Of Light And Darkness: Path Of Eternal Nightmare
by Crazy Rob
Summary: Heroes aren't heroes because they were given the easy choices. Come and hear the tragic tale of one chosen to restore the realms the tragedy of Ladis. Rated M for language and blood
1. Something went wrong

GENERIC DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Ladis and all original characters in this series. Please don't sue. Video Game rights discussions, however, and movie deals are welcome. (Smiles greedily.)

OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS:

Path Of Eternal Nightmares

_If nothing is pure, and nothing is sacred,_

_Then everything we do is all overrated,_

_And if God isn't here, and love isn't there,_

_Then is there any hope anywhere?_

Ballad of the Unnamed Bard, Verse I

Take some time to push away all the thoughts of this world; the confusion and the conundrums, the mayhem and the melancholy. Let the tale again be told of the beginning of the end, and the end of a beginning. The story of the unsung hero.

No statue was built of him, no sculptor was ever commissioned.

No praises were ever sung of him; his memory is all but erased from time itself.

No days of rejoicing or mourning mark his triumphs or his passing.

And yet he has done more than any mortal has been able to do so far…

This story begins in a realm beyond our mundane world, a world in which magic was commonplace, and was old as time itself…

Prologue: Shadows Of Disaster

A girl of eighteen, her amethyst hair wavering slightly in the breeze, continued on her daily routine walk. Her face and skin were a creamy peach, and were it not for the despairing look seemingly forever bound to her face, she would be the essence of innocent beauty.

Her destination was a large tree, from which sadistic squeals of glee could be heard, along with puffs of smoke and flashes of flame.

She sighed bitterly.

He was doing it again.

The girl, given the name Faith, increased her stride, lifting her white robe as to not trip over it, hoping to spare the life of whatever her ill-willed brother had trapped this time.

"Hold… still… DAMMIT!" the blonde-hair boy growled as he pointed his index finger at a slightly singed squirrel, now panicked out of its instinctive mind.

Were it not for a quick reflex that sent the small mammal into a leap, the lightning bolt that emitted from the boy's fingertip would have easily charred both the squirrel and the earth beneath it beyond recognition.

But the mammal's stamina began to fade, and the youth began to prepare another, more destructive spell…

…right as a jet of pale blue light struck him, rendering him airborne for a few moments.

Faith took this time to cast a small healing spell on the poor frightening creature, then a combination of invisibility and hasting spells, allowing it to get away from the homicidal mage before he landed and regained his bearings.

A loud thud, accompanied by swearing, signified that Faith's target had landed.

She regarded the boy with disgust. In her society, the boy would normally wear grey robes, a symbol of humility before God and recognition of what he had yet to learn in the arcane arts.

This youth had no such garb, wearing a black, patch-work robe covered in blood-red runes, a garb fitting for one who called on demonic powers for their work.

"Have you no shame, Fate?" she spoke, her voice icy. "Did you forget the first rule? Do no harm to that which does no harm!"

The boy named Fate rose to his feet, dusting himself off. "Outdated moralistic nonsense." He replied, his eyes flashing angrily. "Fitting from an unanointed fool like you."

Faith was stung by this. The anointment her brother referred to was a ceremony the parents bestowed on their children before age ten, a symbol of recognition of that child's place in society. Her parents had neglected this, spending their time teaching Fate the more difficult arcane arts. When it was finally realized what had happened, it was too late. All of Faith's parents' apologies and pleas could not remove the fact she was the only one in the entire community that was unanointed. It had driven a barrier between her family and her, as it marked her as an inferior citizen for life.

Faith eyes blazed white, and for the slightest of moments, Fate, even as skilled as he was in the war magic arts, feared for his life.

"Did it burn, Fate?" She hissed. "Did it burn when they laid hand on you, baptized you with holy water?" her voice rose, her anger rising.

Fate's calm, ruthless demeanor returned. "You know as well as I your manner is not fitting for an inferior. Now, what was it you interrupted me for?" he said silkily.

Faith, for all it pained her, knew he was right. As an unanointed, she was inferior to everyone in society.

"Mother and Father want you to come home for dinner." she spoke softly.

Fate smiled, his sadistic pleasure increasing. "Bring my dinner to me." He commanded.

Faith's head snapped up. "What!"

Fate shook his head in disgust. "You heard me, wench! Bring me my din…"

But this time Fate had gone too far. A multitude of ice shards rained down on him, gashing him severely. While his magical resistance shouldered some of the blow, the effect was enough to render him helpless.

Faith, her tears turned to ice from her spell, could barely speak for anger and sorrow. "g…g-go to hell, you… BASTARD!" she screamed, running off towards home.

Fate slowly struggled to his feet, casting a healing spell to remove the frostbite and wounds that were the results of a Blizzara spell at point blank range.

"Stupid inferior…" he muttered, though it was empty. A true inferior should have never been able to catch him off guard twice. And to top it off, the creature he was going to use as a sacrifice had escaped.

If only the laws were more lenient, he could dispose of her. Then he could ascend to true power. With no one to match him for raw potential, he would be invincible.

But no. Unanointed or not, the laws allowed her to live, albeit miserably as an outcast.

Idiots. All of them. Mother and Father for not abandoning her, the law for protecting her, and her for not having the sense to put herself out of her own misery.

Idiots.

"But it seems they always get to decide how things are run, these fools, doesn't it?" came a voice.

Fate whirled around, and came face to face with…

Well, now, this was more to his liking.

The mage, his twisted face a pale grey, adorned with scars in the shape of arcane symbols (which, Fate realized, marked him as one who had summoned demons and lived to tell the tale), wore a coal black robe, inscribed with blood-red symbols designed to keep any demon summoned from turning on him.

"Everyday the mundane fools make more and more costly decisions based on "morals", when in reality they're just pandering to what they think the majority wants, in exchange for money, power, or followers." The mage spoke, his voice chilling the very air about him.

Fate swore that the very area around them grew darker as he spoke.

"Even that book, the "holy word" they call it, is nothing more than a tool of fiction for the mundanes to use to keep those more gifted than they in check." And here the mage made a mocking gesture of a priest preaching "'Do as we say, or go to hell!' Such nonsense is better left for fools and invalids."

Fate felt his words ring true. Why did the lesser get to make all the big decisions? Where was his say? When had anyone asked him about a major decision for the village?

"If it wasn't enough that they preach this nonsense, they have to force it on us, shove it down our throats, and make us conform to their beliefs while rejecting our own." The mage paused. "Do you know anyone like that? A family member, perhaps?"

Fate's face twisted into a hateful expression. "Faith's always bitching about some moral standard, or stopping me from having fun…"

The mage smiled. "You see? They always seem to be making up the rules as they go along, not caring who they hurt or why." The mage paused, as if reflecting on something. "And, judging by the state of things, it will continue. Unless…" his demonic gaze lingered on Fate for a few moments, as if considering how to ask a question.

The mage let the word linger, then shook his head. "But no, you would most likely not be interested in such an outlandish idea."

Fate ran towards him "No, tell me, please! I'm willing to do anything…"

The words that the mage needed to be spoken had been said. He smiled, and turned to Fate, his eyes flashing red…

"Very well…"

Back at home, Faith sat on her bed, her sobs now staunched with bitterness. _Perhaps I can go to some other village, one where anointment does not matter, _she wished longingly.

Her parents had asked her to eat with them, to maintain the façade of a family, but Faith had icily reminded them that unanointed were not allowed to eat with anointed. The same way she had for over 10 years.

_If I ever build my own village, there will be no anointings. _She resolved. _No, better yet, anyone may be anointed regardless of age! The Lord accepted those with sins of all types, why should we discern due to age who is better and who is worse?_

For the first time in 10 years, Faith smiled. But her peaceful self-revelation was dispelled with a sound like an explosion resounded near the village square.

Self-pity and resolution left her. She dashed out, ready to aid whoever was injured in the explosion. Screams of disbelief and terror resounded in the air. Even though it was nowhere near dusk, the sky was steadily darkening.

Then she saw it… or more appropriately, him…

Fate.

Only this was no longer the boy she knew as a brother and tormentor. Fate, now easily 8 feet tall and muscle-bound, sported a Black Robe with a golden pentagram on the front, and held a pitch black scythe with a ruby blade. His face and skin were as pale as the moon, and all around him was the aura of a man who knew no good in his heart.

"Each and every one of you…" Fate began; his voice sounding of a cacophony of many demonic raspings melded together, "has had the unwarranted chance to excel at your pitiful endeavors. To break all boundaries, to exceed your predecessors." Fate scowled as he glared at the villagers who were witnessing this spectacle. "But no…" he hissed, the tone of acid being poured on flesh in his voice, "You succumb to your own pettiness, forge rules to bring those around you down…" Fate smiled, and he gaze swept over to her. Faith felt as though her very blood was wilting in her veins.

"For this… failure… there is no other judgment as fitting… no other sentence more suitable… than nonexistence… Death is merciful, and none here are deserving of mercy…" he spoke, with the air of a judge pronouncing sage wisdom.

He lifted the scythe he held, its blade gleaming with a demonic aura. Villagers snapped out of their stupor and hurled offensive spells at him, but the waves of lightning and fire, the sheets of hail and stone failed to faze him in the least.

Faith stood by, her eyes wide in terror. _No, _she said, willing the image away, praying it was all a nightmare. _It can't end this way… not now! I want to feel happy again, just once!_

"SO I FATE HAVE SPOKEN, SO SHALL IT BE!" he roared, swinging the scythe into the earth, where it emitted a dull thud, and then all was silent.

At first, the villagers ceased their spells, and looked about them. Nothing significant, other than the ominous darkening of the sky, had happened.

Then the darkness began to shift, mold itself into almost living form. It stretched from the sky, like tar oozing from a pan tipped from above, twisting and shifting into macabre shapes, engulfing the remaining dim light that was filtering down from above, covering the village in darkness.

The villagers, as if on cue, shifted from disbelief to full-blown panic. Spells flew up at the dark masses, in vain attempts to beat back whatever unholy curse was rapidly descending.

Fate's parents, now sobbing, approached their son, trying to make sense of the madness. Faith tried to call out to them, tried to call them back… but no words came to her throat.

"Why!" Faith's mother asked, her eyes brimming with tears. "Why would you do this?"

Fate answered the question his mother spoke, and the question his father never got the chance to speak, with a gout of pure heat and flame, vaporizing all but a few bones.

Faith's eyes stung with the stench of burning flesh, and the knowledge her family was dead. She raised her hands to ward off whatever would come next, praying the end would be swift.

Fate roared, and the shifting mass of blackness descended on the village like a tidal wave of ink. Buildings disappeared, erased. The masses changed shape, slashing with long pseudo-pod of blackness at whatever was fleeing or was still intact, the impact bringing instant erasure of the struck object or person.

Fate raised the scythe, and the shapes merged into a single wave, swallowing the village at once, converging on one single point: Where his sister stood, trembling.

Faith, as the walls of darkness closed in, prayed that her end would be swift and without pain, asking the God she felt abandoned her long ago for one favor: A quick death.

But such was not meant to be.

As the inky black mass closed on her, preparing to consume her, Faith felt a strange sense of… nothingness, as if she was one with a higher force… and all though the blackness was around her, she could only see light…

Faith had never knew what it meant to be anointed, but now, she felt, she could honestly say she knew beyond a shadow of doubt what it was.

Not holy water on the head, or meaningless chants, but something else…

Fate smiled, his wish of annihilating his sister finally coming true. Finally, after a life of being hindered by her, his parents, all of his village's morals and do-nots, he was finally getting vengeance for all he was made to suffer…

…when a searing light, repelling the blackness that would consume Faith, tore skyward; blazing a path through the darkness. So bright was this glaring light that Fate was forced to turn away to avoid being blinded.

When his sight returned, Faith was nowhere to be found, her spot now covered by the same substance that had consumed the village.

Fate cursed loudly, then sighed, his massive shoulders, enhanced by foul magic, shrugging slightly.

What possible harm could she cause now?

Still… the light bothered him.

Rather than rebuild the spot with his own devices and constructs, he made a rift there, a place of nothingness.

A grave of nothing for one who was worth nothing, he joked to amuse and calm himself.

But still, he could not remove the light from his mind…

_But of what consequence is it to me? _He thought. _Even if she somehow survived, what harm could she ever bring me?_

Fate then set about his task. From the darkness-tainted land, he raised with pure will massive spires and towers to build his castle, from which he would rule…

…what _would_ he rule? Oh, yes… the mage had mentioned something about his dues… in return for the massive power, Fate was to conquer many realms under the mage's God. Lucifer, the mage had said.

A kingdom where he would reign supreme, only answering to this new god, whom, he noted happily, had provided far more immediate results than the pacifist deity his parents adored.

He looked about him, surveying the mass of darkness that churned and oozed. It needed a name… just like a plague or a murderer needs a proper title…

He smiled, and stretched his arms out, like a proud emperor surveying his land.

"Odium." He spoke, his voice low and demonic. :"You shall be called Odium, for you are my hate and rancor made form to do my bidding."

And, with a slash through the air, he called eight great masses of the blackness to him…

Black tar, however lethal, did not make the proper impression on those who were to submit without question. The Mage had said that one of the limits of the power Fate wielded was that he could not be omnipresent. To compensate for this, he would need loyal soldiers who would never turn on him. That would answer his every command without question.

And so, with a diabolic chant, the first mass of Odium began to churn and take shape, becoming a mass of mottled, tainted dark colored hues, like oil on tainted blood.

Fate, willing the mass, began to form and shape the horrific structure of the beast. Pseudo-pods became green, scaled arms and legs with vicious claws, attached to an armored, reptilian body. The mass writhed and trembled as the hideous blasphemy of creation began to take final shape- a giant reptile with an enormous body, the size of an elephant, with a saw-toothed maw that smelled of arsenic and cruel, blood-red eyes that reflected a wicked intelligence.

As the beast settled into its form, Fate placed his hand on its head. "I name thee Despair, ever gorging on the earth's hope, and unto thee I confer the power to bring harm against the pure and innocent."

The beast's eyes flickered, as it made a small bow. "Then I shall bring harm against the innocent and pure as you command." It spoke, its voice like that of a man being drowned over and over. Fate removed his hand, and there, upon its skull, lay his new god's mark- a blood red pentagram.

He called the next mass of odium, and the dark ritual began again. He formed, this time, a female form, which would be very comely were it not for the fact her skin was a mottled blue, and her face was that of a medusa's. Not caring to make her appear a common harlot, he robed her in a midnight blue toga, and formed in her hand a trident. Her emerald eyes flickered to life, and her fanged grin widened as Fate placed his hand once more on her forehead, conferring the demonic mark.

"I name thee Desecration, tainter of the waters, and unto thee I confer the power to taint all with poison that makes man and woman go mad and pray for death."

Desecration smiled. "Then I shall poison all, and none shall escape the pain I bring."

He brought the next mass of odium before him, and thought of how fitting this pattern was… a servant of each of the elements of magic to symbolize that he was served by magic itself.

He formed the next mass into the build of a demonic, bipedal minotaur-like creature, arming it with a blazing axe and chain.

He admired the new servant, and made his decree. "I name you Hatred, the ever-consuming flame made flesh, and confer unto thee the power to bring pain and despair unto all you see."

The minotaur snorted a gout of flame, and bowed on one knee. "Then I shall burn the hopes of all to ash, and never cease to plague them."

He formed the next mass into a more suitable personification of one of the "Espers" he had been forced to learn to summon. Shiva had failed to respect his commands, and so he would create a far more superior image.

He formed her out of pure ice, chiseling her form into a cruel image of a dark goddess, and cloaked her in armor of unmelting ice. He finished the ritual by placing a scepter of liquid frost in her hands. "I name thee Apathy, and unto thee I confer the power to snuff out hope, ambition, and reason."

Apathy almost seemed to not hear the commandment, then spoke, her voice flat and unwavering, "Then I shall rid all of emotion and hope that rise against you."

Fate began to admire his works, and continued working in such a fashion. After some length of this ritualistic anointment of his infernal soldiers, four more hideous beasts were created: Cruelty, a massive skeleton with bone wings and a crossbow made of rotted ivory, with the power to induce pain in any living thing. Judgment, the false sage of light, who revealed all in a person's life without modesty and administered cruel punishments without remorse. Rage, an eight-armed, Javelin-bearing bipedal hybrid of a dragon and a tiger, who struck down at whim anyone he felt like with searing lightning. And, finally, he made Blasphemy, his personal favorite: The incarnation of evil deeds guised in goodwill, the murderous betrayal of the sellout personified.

Then, with a wave of his scythe, he tore open a portal to the other realms, sending his eight minions to do as much damage as possible, and to conquer them in his name…

Fate's laughter echoed along the odium-soaked wasteland that was once his home.

CHAPTER ONE: REGRESSIONS, TRANSGRESSIONS, AND RECANTATION.

Earth, May 19th, 2004

It is said that the firstborn of a family, especially if male, receives both the most of the good attention and most of the overreactions to mistakes.

This is more commonly true with non-dysfunctional families.

Ladis Jadesdale, a boy of 18, awoke from his small, unadorned room. It had a few books he had from the library, a desk, a bed, and a closet. Not much else was in there, save for a long dowel rod he kept for protection.

The body suggested that perhaps Ladis was a bit too skinny, maybe a runner or swimmer. Not really muscled, with a large, messy mass of black hair that never wanted to be combed.

He shuffled out of bed, and began the morning ritual for a Monday. (GOD, he hated Mondays).

Take his shower before his brother woke up and demanded the shower, and he got grounded for an additional 2 weeks for not being out of there in a split-second. (The first two were for failing to answer "Yes Sir" to the little brat.)

Get out, and back into his refuge of a room before someone could tell him what a failure he was to the family.

Get packed for the last few days of school and get out before his mother/father/brother stopped him and began the daily lecture of how disappointed they were in him.

He had himself a glass of milk and a piece of bread before he was at the door, keys in hand…

"Ladis." A voice, cold and uncaring, stopped him.

He turned around, barely suppressing a sigh.

His father. A hulking, eternally angry, bitter man who seemed to suck the life out of each room he stepped into. His thinning hair and cold, stony face only hinted at the taskmaster that lurked underneath

"I don't know why you bother getting up and going to school, it's obvious you're not going to be much of anything but a burden on society." He said, the venom in his words only diluted by the fact he had said something of this acidity each and every miserable day of Ladis' life.

"Were I you, I'd make the mature decision, and end my burden on society prematurely. However," and his father rolled his eyes, "you don't seem mature enough to do that yet."

"So you're saying I should kill myself? Is that it?" Ladis hissed, the anger in his voice rising.

"Not while you're under my roof. Funerals are expensive. I don't want the trouble of burying your worthless hide."

An ordinary teenager would have their soul shattered at these words. Ladis, however, had his soul shattered over and over, and so he had developed a sort of macabre immunity to these onslaughts.

"Three more days, and then I'm gone." Ladis reminded, as his graduation was fast approaching.

"You've got four hours after they give you your papers to get out. I honestly don't know how you managed to bribe them into passing you." His father spoke, not decreasing his tone's edge in the least. "And don't you DARE give me that bull about you earning those grades! Why, in my day…"

"Maybe they took pity on you. Either way, in three days, we'll be rid of each other." Ladis said, as he walked out.

"Don't think you came come back home after the world chews you up, you ungrateful piece of shit!" his father roared after him. "I'll laugh when they drag your bloated carcass out of the ditches!"

A few of the students headed towards the bus stop with Ladis shot him a glance of pity, and disbelief. He ignored these. They just reminded him of the fact that most people looked forward to waking up each morning to a new day, while Ladis would have gladly welcomed Cardiac Arrest while he was sleeping.

"Three more days…" he reminded himself. "Three more days…"

Then what? Where would he go?

_Anywhere. _

Anywhere was better than here. Away from home. Away from his parents. Away from his brother. Away from… everything.

School wasn't better at all.

Nothing was.

The condescending teachers with their leering faces, the plastered smiles, the complete lack of giving a damn whatsoever…

One thing was good, though.

The Mondays were when Ladis got paid. And at the very least, the school food was good.

So in ways, it was better than home.

Ladis pretended to stay after for detentions. His father and mother gave him absolutely no spending money whatsoever, not even for food, so Ladis, during these "detentions" did work for one of the chemistry teachers, helping him at his family restaurant on the side.

It kept him fed during the school hours, at least, and, on rare occasions, Ladis could afford new clothing, like a jacket for colder months.

It was his last payday.

He knocked on the door to the chemistry lab, three, sharp knocks.

"Who is it?" called a crisp, Asian-accented voice.

"I am the ferryman for the River Styx." Ladis replied.

There was a pause.

"Rocker 2709. Combo 23-06-45. The money is there. You get it and keep quiet. Ok?"

Ladis turned to walk away.

"Radis." The voice called.

Ladis paused, looking back at the closed door.

"You good kid with good head. You have bad parents. Time to go someplace else! Get a job! Be happy for change! Hai?"

Ladis smiled. The first encouraging words all day.

"Hai." He responded, and went to collect his pay.

The pay was there, of course, along with some extra.

A significant amount extra. At least an additional 100 was added to his pay.

There was a note attached.

_You keep this from your father. He not happy with me. He come to my restaurant, start yelling bad things. You need to leave ASAP. _

_Gods protect you,_

_Dr. Kazubeki._

Ladis swore silently, and stuffed the money into his jeans. He closed the locker, and walked to his class as inconspicuously as possible.

No smiles. People got worried when Ladis smiled. A laugh once got him sent to the office, with relieved faces all around when it was discovered he didn't have a gun. This large amount of money could easily be interpreted as payment for a drug deal.

But where to hide this sort of cash? Home was out; Ladis' room was raided daily for any sign of wrongdoing. Hiding it in his locker was a bad idea, too: His father and mother frequently checked it for drugs and anything of value. (It had taken three teachers and the principal himself to convince his parents that he was given those textbooks, and that he hadn't stolen them.)

For now, Ladis merely kept the money hidden safely on his person. Kept a straight face. Kept his personal mantra going.

"Three more days… three more days… three more days…"

English- The one class that could be reasonably praised for keeping Ladis from going berserk with a firearm in the cafeteria. Here, Ladis could vent his frustrations and fears and actually receive praise for them, all in the confidentiality that his parents would never see them.

It was also a class where he had friends. Friends who could help him as long as he helped them. Friends who he could trust to hold on to a large block of money until he could spend it safely.

He sat at his usual place, smiling as he glanced over at two particular students, one a rather becoming brunette girl with a figure that could best be described as "elven", an innocent, carefree face, and her boyfriend, a dark, Hispanic young man with an impish grin that, to those unaccustomed to his mannerisms, gave off the illusion of a gothic student.

The two were apparently trying to engage tactile telepathy by pushing their heads together.

Ladis cleared his throat, and the two jumped, then glared at him.

Ladis, for the second time during the day, smiled. "You know, the Holiday Inn is doing a one-night special for couples…"

Ladis then had to duck quickly to avoid the female's purse being swung at his head.

"Easy! I wasn't trying to upset you, Katrin." He attempted, trying to pacify any residual anger.

The male smiled, and, had Ladis not known that his intentions were not dwelling on such things, he could have easily assumed this man was contemplating a painful death as punishment for the intrusion. "Hello, Ladis." He said, his light tone betraying what most would assume to be a dour exterior. "Three more days." He said, his face curling into a grin.

Ladis sighed. "Three more days, Derrick. Three more days…"

Derrick gave Katrin a parting kiss, then starting fishing out his English book from his backpack.

"I need a favor from you, Derrick." Ladis said, trying to lower his voice to a whisper.

Derrick looked up, his eyes narrowing. Years of experience had taught him to be wary of requests for "favors", even from friends. "What kind of favor?" he asked cautiously.

Ladis sighed. "It's a long story…"

After English class, Derrick absorbed the full extent as Ladis relayed the story of the bonus he received for his work, and that he needed someone to hang on to it so his parents didn't confiscate it.

Derrick's eyes narrowed. "He actually said you had 4 hours to pack up after graduation?"

"Yes."

Derrick looked down at the ground, shaking his head slightly. Katrin brought her hand to her mouth, seemingly unsure of what to say.

"Your dad sucks." Derrick said, after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

"In other news, sky blue, grass green. So, can you?" Ladis asked.

Derrick took the envelope and stuffed it into his shirt. "No problem. Listen, stop by today before you go home. My dad wanted to talk to you."

Ladis raised an eyebrow. "About…?"

Derrick shrugged as he and Katrin began to walk off. "He didn't say. All I know is that he said it was really urgent."

Ladis pondered this momentarily, then turned to leave.

Ever maintaining the façade he was just another student who had a good home to go to. A family that loved him. A life he liked living.

Continuing the lie he had been forced to live since he was only 5…

The rest of the school day was mottled goodbyes and teacher's putting on their most plastered smiles and wishing each student the best when they set off into the world. Friends laughed. Couples kissed in the hallway without shame.

And as Ladis walked out of the school into the blazing heat of the summer day, he couldn't help but feel that God himself mocked his life, giving him images of what he could have been…

The walk to his friend's house seemed to take forever. Thoughts of what he would do for shelter, food, and livelihood after he left home flooded his mind. How would he pay bills? The bonus Kazubeki left him would provide for a few minor provisions, but not much else…

Finally, he arrived. A tall, muscular Hispanic man, Derrick's father, greeted him.

"Ladis! Come in, come in!" the man greeted him warmly. Ladis plastered on a smile, never giving any indication of anything being wrong. Held back the tears of envy as he felt the benevolence of the household wash over him, a feeling he'd never felt at home.

"I take it Derrick told you I wanted to talk to you." The man said, sighing. He face reflected a sympathetic sort of person, the kind who did not like to see others suffer.

Ladis nodded mutely. "Yes, he did, sir."

"Call me Mr. Gutarez, Ladis. More casual." He said, trying to lessen the tension. "Please, sit down." He said, indicating the couch. Ladis plopped down, as did Gutarez.

"I've heard things for you aren't hot at home."

Ladis' head shot up. Could Derrick have stooped so low as to get others interfered…

"No, Derrick didn't tell me. I hear it when I walk my dogs; the screaming and…" he paused, trying to lessen the severity of a word he was going to use.  
…the names they call you at home."

Ladis sighed. "I've gotten used to it."

Gutarez frowned. "You shouldn't have to. I hear they're kicking you out four hours after graduation."

Ladis rose with a start. "How did you…"

"Hear it? It was easy, as I was outside this morning, ANYONE could have heard your dad's ranting…" he said, sighed.

"Anyway, I got to talking with the Missus, and we were wondering, why should you wait? If you're willing to help out around the house, you can get your stuff and live with us until graduation. After that, I know a friend up at a church called St. Matthew's who could use some help. It should help prepare you for college, and give you money to spend."

Ladis' jaw dropped. After… after all this garbage he'd suffered for 18 years… was he getting another chance?

"You mean it!" Ladis breathed.

Gutarez smiled. ""Wouldn't of said it if I didn't mean it."

And with those words, Ladis, for the first time in 14 years, knew the kind embrace of a father.

His family was not at all pleased.

Who could blame them? For 13 years, Ladis had done most of the housework, and now the prospect of not having someone to spew their venom at was looming nigh.

"I hope you realize just how much you're hurting me by doing this." Ladis' mother sighed in her usual tone, a pity-me sigh on the verge of tears forced only by sheer will. Her body was a shrewish, thin woman's, with an eternally lamenting face that showed she had deepest sympathies for herself and no one else.

"You wanted me out, you're getting your wish. I'm eighteen now. I don't HAVE to stay here." Ladis said icily.

His mother sighed. "If only you would see the error of your ways and the righteousness of ours, then we would have a benevolent dictatorship, and you wouldn't be burdened with all these decisions. Unfortunately, you're not that mature yet. I don't know if you ever will be."

Ladis finished packing his possessions, and picked up his dowel rod.

"You still have that? That symbol of rebellion?" She moaned.

"This is the only thing that's kept Terce at bay." He said, saying his brother's name like it was venom. "The little knife-wielding maniac is hazardous to my health. Consider this my life insurance."

"He is simply exercising his right of dominance over a lesser being." She stated, as if this were a proven scientific fact, Ladis being nothing but pond scum.

Ladis shrugged, apathy taking the place of emotion. "…fine. Whatever you want to believe." He said, taking the suitcase containing his entire life's wares, and started downstairs, where Gutarez was waiting outside.

He was halfway out the door when he heard a faint swishing…

Instinctively, Ladis spun, spinning his dowel to knock the incoming knife away from his face and into a nearby wall. He saw his brother, fuming angrily, where the knife had come from.

"Terce the Curse" Ladis had nicknamed him. It seemed as if Terce was yet another punishment for some horrible crime Ladis had committed in a previous life, with such attempts on his life being a daily occurrence.

Terce looked innocent enough, a 14-year old with an angelic face and dusty brown hair, and a build that suggested he got a good workout. (This was mainly in part due to the strenuous assassination attempts he would try on his brother every other day.) However, those who had spent more than five minutes with Terce had been known to swear up and down that they had met the reincarnation of Damien.

"You shit! You blocked that one on purpose! DAAAAAAAAAD!" Terce screamed, his face going red with the effort.

Ladis sighed, and kept walking, where a horrified and appalled Gutarez waited by his car.

"Yes, this IS normal." Ladis said simply, answering the question that hung in the air like the smell of rotted corpses.

Ladis' father appeared in the doorway. "You're not going anywhere, you little bastard. Get back here and take your medicine like a man!" he bellowed, scaring a few birds out of their trees.

Ladis turned to his father before he got in the car. "Sorry, don't feel sick. You could use some, though."

The hulking behemoth of a man seemed infuriated by this casual refusal, and charged to yank Ladis out of the car and back into his house, and he might have succeeded, had his courage not been quelled by Gutarez pointing a Glock at his heart.

"Take one more step, and I WILL shoot to kill." Gutarez warned.

Ladis' father, seeing he no longer had the advantage, turned to Ladis. "I will hunt you down for this. I will make sure you pay dearly for humiliating me. I will see to it your life is utterly and irreparably ruined. Do I make myself clear, shit!" he growled, his voice dripping venom.

Ladis sighed bitterly. "Let's just leave. He'll keep ranting if we stay."

Gutarez put the Civic in gear, and drove away from the house Ladis called home… with the dying threats and curses of Mr. Jadesdale flying after them.

Things were looking up.

Gutarez' only asked simple chores of Ladis during his stay, and Derrick was all to happy to play host to a refugee. Mrs. Gutarez had even packed him a homemade lunch for the last day of school…

Things were definitely looking up.

It was gym. One more hour of this… MOCKERY of physical education, run by a (he used the term loosely) woman who seemed to thoroughly enjoy the suffering her exercises inflicted.

Calling this woman, Miss Kellsin, a brutal, cold-hearted teacher, would be making an understatement, in Ladis' opinion. She taught wrestling, and there were rumors she would occasionally single out a female student to practice submission holds on. More than once Ladis had seen a pretty crying face in the nurse's office, having a broken appendage tended to, refusing to answer questions about how such severe injuries could occur.

He would go to the office and report it, but no one seemed willing to testify. And who was a nobody like Ladis to simply fling baseless accusations at a teacher?

Ladis stooped to regain his breath after a grueling 45-minute run around the gym courtesy of Kellsin. Some of the less fit students had fallen over, desperately intaking air to survive. Kellsin forbade water breaks during her classes, so thirst and stamina deprivation took their toll on everyone.

Stumbling beside him, Derrick fought to regain his breath. "God…damn… bitch…"

Ladis, finally regaining his breath, stood up. "She'll get it someday, Derrick. Everyone goes down in time."

Kellsin stood over some of the fallen students, her obese, tyrannical form towering over her students. "You sacks of shit! What the hell was that? Are you crap-lickers are so out of shape you can't handle a little jog!"

Ladis stifled a laugh. Ironically, Kellsin was so out of shape herself that the shortest sprint left her gasping for air.

Kellsin's cruel gaze swept over the students, then, a cruel, callous smile formed on her lips. "Katrin! In my office! NOW!"

Derrick rose with a start, and Ladis watched as Katrin tried to make an excuse to get out of her inevitable doom, only to be forcibly dragged by Kellsin towards the office where so many innocent young women had their limbs twisted and broken at the teacher's sadistic glee.

"Everyone goes down in time, huh?" Derrick asked bitterly, his face contorted in fury. Ladis saw the look of despair and frustration at his inability to do anything to help his girlfriend, and…

Something inside him snapped.

"Yes. And Kellsin's time is today."

Derrick looked at Ladis like he was insane, then, his face hardened, his features set into a determined glare. "We could get expelled for this."

"I know." Ladis said, as they started for the office at a run.

"We could lose our diplomas."

"I know."

"Then let's roll."

Not wasting any time to see what was going on, Ladis and Derrick simultaneously attacked the door to Kellsin's office with a kick, shattering the lock and flinging the door wide open.

Sure enough, Kellsin had Katrin in a surfboard submission, attempting to wrench both arms out of their sockets. A series of cracklings and Katrin's screaming indicated her arms had given way, when the sudden noise of Ladis and Derrick's entry made Kellsin ease her assault and look to see what the commotion was.

"What in the hell do you shits think you're doing?" she roared.

Ladis replied by punching her in the face, knocking her off of Katrin and into a desk. Office supplies scattered everywhere as Kellsin struggled to regain her balance.

When Ladis saw her face again, a large diagonal cut was across her livid face, her eyes boiling with rage and indignation at the blow.

"WHYYOUFUCKINGSONOFA…"

Ladis sidestepped the sloppy left jab, twisted the arm around clockwise, evoking a short cry of surprise and pain from Kellsin.

"That's not how you properly break someone's arm, Miss. Now this…" and with that, Ladis released his right hand's grip on the arm, pulled it taut with his left arm, and brought his right elbow crashing down onto Kellsin's. There was a loud crack and Kellsin fell to the floor bellowing in pain.

"…is how you break an arm."

Ladis looked up to where Derrick was rubbing Katrin's injured shoulders.

"Are you okay?"

Katrin could barely speak. "I…can't move my arms…" she whimpered.

Ladis, infuriated, brought his fist down onto the back of Kellsin's head, knocking her out cold. He then turned to the intercom, used for paging other rooms, and selected the main office.

"Get some an officer down here. We have a situation." He said, his voice devoid of any emotion.

Derrick, still trying to pop Katrin's shoulder's back in, watched in horror as Ladis took a jump rope from a storage box, and used it to bind Kellsin's hands and feet.

"Are you insane? They'll arrest us for sure."

Ladis shook his head. "Not this time. Not when we've got both a victim and a witness to the crime."

It figured. Just when things were going well, life had to come along and screw them up. Just his luck.

He sighed, and went over to Derrick to see if he could ease Katrin's pain any until help arrived.

This was not good.

Ladis and Derrick sat in the back of a Police Cruiser in the high school parking lot, waiting to be hauled off to the precinct. Beating up and hog-tying your gym teacher, it turned out, didn't sit too well with the police officers on duty at the High School.

"Damn." Derrick said. "What the hell are we going to tell my dad?" he asked, his normally stoic face showing a hint of despair.

"The truth. We tell him the truth. We don't make ourselves heroes, we just state the facts." Ladis calmly spoke, trying to ease Derrick's fears as much as his own. "..and we pray he can cough up the bail money." He added, fear creeping into his own voice as well.

A tap on the window startled them both, and two officers opened up the back doors of the car, and helped Ladis and Derrick out.

"Your story checks out. Seems Kellsin's been roughhousing with a lot of the girls and blackmailing them into keeping quiet." Said one of the two, as they fumbled for the keys to undo the duo's handcuffs.

"She still unconscious?" Ladis asked, no concern for Kellsin whatsoever showing in his voice.

"Yup."

"Good."

"What about Katrin?" asked Derrick, as the other officer undid his cuffs. "Is she…?"

"The EMS popped her arms back in, gave her some painkillers, and are taking her to the hospital. She'll be all right. As for Kellsin, the paramedics say that elbow's gone for good. Too little calcium or something, they said." The officer rambled as he undid Ladis cuffed hands, and gave the boy room to stretch. "Can't say I feel sorry for her, though."

The other cop turned his gaze on Ladis. "That was stupid."

"Yessir."

"That could be classified as assault with intent to kill."

"Yessir."

"I could have you arrested and sent to Juvenile, then to the pen when you hit 21 for that sort of thing."

"Yessir."

"But I'm not going to. You know why, kid?"

"Why, sir?"

The cop looked him dead in the eyes, as if he was examining his soul for a taint. "Because that took balls, son. You two risked everything to help out someone else. I can't send a man to jail for that any day."

Ladis raised an eyebrow at the overly sappy statement, and the cop sighed. "It's called justifiable assault. Now get home." He growled, but smiled slightly, and gave a dismissing wave.

Ladis and Derrick looked out at the area where the buses where… or had been. The ordeal had taken so long all buses had left the school, and neither owned a car. However, transportation was the last thing on Ladis' mind, as he wondered how Gutarez would handle the news of this little incident.

It was going to be a very long walk home.

Mr. Gutarez paced about in the kitchen, his face undecipherable.

"This teacher took Katrin into the backroom, and pulled her arms out of their sockets. Ladis then punched her, broke her arm, and tied her up. Is that what you're telling me?" he said, his voice neutral.

Derrick nodded. "Yes, sir."

Gutarez turned to Ladis. "You have anything to add?"

Ladis bowed his head. "I did what I felt had to be done. Nothing more, nothing less."

Gutarez's face remained indecipherable. He looked at them both, as if deciding on a punishment. Then, sighing, he walked over to the refrigerator, grabbed a few sodas, and tossed one to Ladis and Derrick.

"When I was your age, teachers were allowed to hit kids with a paddle. We had this one guy in our class. A black kid. Really smart, really cool. Teacher hated him." Gutarez made exaggerated hand motions to play out the effect.

"Kept paddling him for everything. Sneezing, coughing, asking questions, not asking questions, he could barely sit down. We all felt sorry for him."

Gutarez took a swig of his soda.

"So what we did is broke the teacher's paddle. We thought that'd stop him from beating up on the kid." Gutarez sighed, and looked at the ceiling. "It didn't. He beat him with his fists, kept punching him until he couldn't get up, then he…" and here Gutarez started having trouble forming words. "…he kept kicking him… like a dog."

"Me and some of the guys jumped the teacher, pulled him off of the guy. When the police arrived, we were all expelled. The teacher received a warning. The kid dropped out and we never heard from him again."

He looked at Ladis and Derrick, his eyes steely.

"There's going to be times where doing the right thing means you can lose everything. I think you two knew what could of happened when you chose to save Katrin. Thank God the other girls spoke up, or we'd be having this conversation at the precinct."

Gutarez finished his soda, crushed the can, and tossed it into a garbage can with a flick of his wrist.

"You guys may think you're heroes. You got a right to… for a while. Don't let it get to your head, because fame makes monsters outta saints." Gutarez said, smiling.

"There's gonna be times where you make the right decision and everyone else says you're wrong. There may even be times where making the right decision may cost you your life. Heroes aren't heroes because they were given the easy decisions to make."

Gutarez's gaze swept over the two, who were still listening, spellbound.

"But remember this: In the end, you got one person you have to answer to. Make sure you do stuff you'll be proud of when it's time."

With that he patted them on the shoulders, and left to work in his study.

Ladis took a sip, and closed his eyes in thought.

"Why, Ladis?" said Derrick, his face towards the ground.

"Why what?"

"Why do people do this? Katrin never did anything to Kellsin. Why she'd get hurt?"

Ladis took the last of his soda in one gulp.

"I'd tell you the answer, but I think you know it already."

Derrick looked up. "What is it?"

Ladis sighed. "Assholes don't target people who did them wrong. They target the innocent, the ones who never did them any harm. That's what makes them assholes."

Derrick stood up. "True. I'm going to see Katrin. You wanna come?"

Ladis shook his head. "I need to think. Tell her to get well in time for graduation for me."

Derrick nodded, and headed out to ask his dad for a ride.

Ladis trotted upstairs, to the guest room where he was staying.

It had only been two days since he moved in, and already he'd caused trouble.

"Am I bad luck?" he asked the ceiling. "Do I really make other people's lives miserable just by being around them?"

Silence answered him.

Ladis mentally shook himself for talking out loud, and flopped on the bed.

He had escaped his family. He had escaped High School, and taken out an abusive teacher as he left.

So why the hell did he feel so low?

"How's your arm, Katrin?" asked Derrick.

"For the thousandth time, it's fine." Replied Katrin. "I'm glad you're concerned, but really, it's better now. My skin, on the other hand…" she said, cringing.

Ladis understood her reason for discomfort. The graduation gowns they were forced to wear were hot, stifling, and of sandpaper texture.

"After this, I'm taking a hot shower and forgetting about all this." Declared Katrin as she adjusted her hat.

"If you wanna use mine, I'll scrub your back for you…" Derrick whispered into her ear.

"What about my other parts?" Katrin asked innocently.

"They'll be given… _special _care." Promised Derrick, licking his lips.

Ladis elbowed Derrick in the arm to silence him. "Quiet, it's starting!"

The graduation ceremony began, with the valedictorian making his 25-cent speech, the principal making blanket compliments, and then the passing out of diplomas began.

Each student, upon receiving their diploma, would go up to the stage, bow, and return to their seat as the audience clapped. This went without exception, until…

"Jadesdale, Ladis!"

Ladis took his diploma, shook the principal's hand, and bowed to the audience.

There were a few handclaps, but the majority of the noise was muffled whispers.

"_Isn't he the one…"_

"_Yes, he broke that teacher's arm."_

"_Violent kid."_

"_He did it to save another student."_

"_Doesn't make it right."_

"_Should be locked up."_

"_Should be in the chair."_

Ladis headed back to his seat as the mutterings continued, mentally blocking out everything the audience was saying.

_They weren't there. They don't know how horrible it was. _He told himself, excusing both himself and the audience from responsibility.

The last name was called, and the students rose for one last reciting of the school song.

The band started up the last song of the year, and the students feigned interest as they prepared to sing the first lines of the school song, but suddenly, the ceremony was disrupted by a person forcing his way onto the stage.

It was Dr. Frankson, a thin, middle aged school counselor with a pathological habit of outrageous exaggeration. He and the principal were engaged in a short, silent, but heated debate, and then, with an exasperated sigh and shaking of his head, the principal picked up the mike, and spoke in as neutral a tone as he could manage,

"Would Ladis Jadesdale please come up to the stage?"

The entire audience and student body went deathly silent.

Ladis brought his palm to his face in disbelief. Every encounter with Dr. Frankson had been a nightmare; each time he'd call Ladis down to the office, he'd make up another reason that Ladis was a deranged individual needing to be institutionalized.

Knowing the conflict would not be resolved until he faced Frankson head on, Ladis trudged up to the stage. As he stared down Frankson, he waited for him or the principal to make the first statement. Frankson glared at him with hateful, spite-filled eyes (a look Ladis had grown all too accustomed to) and began to speak.

"You don't deserve that diploma."

This statement sent a shockwave of murmuring and gasps through the audience.

"You assaulted a teacher, and barely passed your classes. You are an unbalanced, uneducated, unredeemable delinquent."

The principal, his eyes furrowed, reached for the mike to end Frankson's verbal assault. Frankson yanked away, his hateful, spiteful glare never leaving Ladis.

"You don't deserve to graduate, hold a job, or any other place in our society. You need to do the right thing, the mature thing, hand back your diploma, and get yourself institutionalized so they can find out what the hell your problem is."

Ladis' face went red with shame at this indignation, and every fiber of his body wanted to leap forward and start pummeling the life out of Frankson, but then… an idea came to him.

A slow smile crept over his face, which had returned to normal color.

With a swift swipe, he snatched the mike from Frankson's grasp, who was bewildered at the sudden mood swing.

"You're absolutely right. I do have serious mental problem! One that's been troubling me ever since I started High School! And I'm asking you, Ladies and Gentlemen of the audience," he said, waving to the audience, " to help me figure this one out…"

Ladis let the silence dangle perilously, as some of the viewers, students and parents alike, looked at him incredulously.

Then with an exaggerated gesture, he pointed to Frankson "How the hell does a batshit looney like him wind up a counselor! The sheer ludicrousness of it's enough to drive anyone batty!" Ladis feigned tearing out his hair as the audience roared with laughter.

"I've been down to his office twenty times, just this semester, all at his personal request, never at a teacher's. Each session lasted about an hour or so, during which he'd try to convince me I was unfit to stay in society and was a danger to those around me! He even called me out of a final exam for one of these joyous sessions." At this the audience began to murmur endlessly and glare at Frankson. "So that's 20 odd hours he spent telling me I was psycho and not giving me any advice other than to drop out and institutionalize myself! Often, I'd miss out on important assignments thanks to his little chats, and so he, in fact, contributed to my nearly failing high school!" Ladis took a deep breath after his tirade, and smiled, first at the audience, then to a fuming Frankson and an aghast Principal. "So I ask you, kind people of the audience, is this the kind of guy you want counseling your kids? Your future?"

There was a wide plethora of responses, including a few outspoken individuals yelling their discontent, and excited, beelike chatter among the students and the spectators.

"And so, in closing, I thank you, Frankson, you batty old fart! Thanks to you, I've a shining image of the person I do NOT want to grow up to be." Ladis flashed the peace sign as Frankson as he turned to walk off stage, casually tossing the mike to the principal.

As Ladis expected, his verbal assault on Frankson's integrity had provoked the counselor to blind fury. As soon as he heard the tell-tale sounds of running steps in his general direction, he sidestepped, watching Frankson go flying by in a botched charge, slamming head-first into a nearby refreshments table, sending punch and assorted foodstuffs flying everywhere.

As the audience gasped and teachers rushed over to both restrain Frankson and make sure he was uninjured, Ladis made one final statement.

"Watch that first step, it's a doozy."

He then strode over to where Katrin and Derrick were sitting, and sat down as if nothing had happened.

Needless to say, the graduation's after festivities, due to all the prepared refreshments being rendered inedible, were abruptly terminated, but most of the students in attendance agreed it was a small price to pay for the show.

Gutarez was waiting for Ladis and Derrick at the entrance. "Some graduation, huh?" he said, as they waited for Derrick and Katrin to finish saying goodbye to each other.

Ladis smiled. "Yeah. For the crap, this was worth it."

After a graduation celebration at a local restaurant, a new sensation for Ladis, who had never been taken out to eat in his life, the family returned to the Gutarez home, where a tired Ladis and Derrick changed back into their normal clothes.

"Whew, what a rush, huh?" Ladis said, glad to be out of the stifling graduation robes.

"Yeah, I'm just glad that crap is over. Enough playing hero, enough playing the good guy, I just wanna kick back and relax a little." He indicated his Xbox.

"Wanna play?" he asked, offering Ladis a controller.

"Hell yes." Ladis said, the fun of video games being a foreign, but thrilling experience for him.

Not being exactly experienced, Ladis lost spectacularly to Derrick at a shooting multiplayer, dying almost a moment after he respawned.

"Crap! Why do I keep getting killed?" grumbled Ladis.

Derrick smiled. "Rushing in blindly will get you killed, young master. Be like the snake, silent in the grass, bite you in the ass." Derrick mimicked a karate instructor as he used a few well placed shots to defeat Ladis for the 22nd straight time.

The two laughed, then became quiet as a commotion came from downstairs.

"No, we haven't seen her…"

"Are you sure? When we got home, she said she was going for a walk, did she stop by…"

Ladis identified the frantic couple at the Gutarez's door as Katrin's parents, the father looking older by the minute, and the mother nearly dissolved in tears.

Mr. Gutarez turned to Derrick, his face wild. "Have you seen Katrin!"

Numbly, Derrick shook his head.

"Then where…"

There was a crashing of glass, and the squealing of tires. As both families dashed to the living room, where the crash had came from, they saw the culprit: A brick with a small tape recorder attached, with a note that said "Play Me".

Ladis, not taking time to consider any hazards, reached down, and hit the play button.

"Hello, Ladis." Came a disturbingly familiar voice, reminiscent of Ladis' Father. "I think it's time you and I had a father-son talk. One on one. Alone. I think Katrin would really appreciate if you came by yourself… more than one person coming would… complicate things considerably."

Derrick cursed and Mrs. Gutarez began reciting prayers.

"For anyone else listening, Ladis comes alone. One's company, two's a crowd. Bad things will happen to Katrin if anyone else joins in on the party. It's being held at the abandoned movie theater near the high school. Just the place for a friendly chat. You have one hour, Ladis, then I start the party without you."

Numbly, Ladis realized that his father had stooped to getting back at him through other people.

_So he wants to talk, huh? _He thought, sick with anger and sadness at the sheer outrage of this situation.

Ladis, ignoring the protests of the Gutarez family, dashed upstairs, grabbed his dowel, and dashed out into the cold black night.

_Then let's talk, old man._

Ladis arrived at the theatre, a half-hour later, after a relentless running that had left him breathless. Looking up at the worn, tattered door, he saw a small envelope attached. He opened it, revealing a simple index card.

_The party's about to start, kiddo. Come on inside. We've got a nice graduation present for you._

Ladis howled with anger, and kicked open the theatre doors, dashed through the lobby, following crude decorations leading to one of the viewing rooms.

Darkness. The screen lay in tatters, and, on the stage, the silhouette of a chair, with a person sitting in it, were all that could be made out. Ladis kept walking into the room, scanning the darkness for any traces of movement.

"Glad you could make it!" Boomed a voice over the intercom, which Ladis recognized as his father's. "We were going to start without you, but you seem to have shown up just in time!"

A spotlight shone on the chair on stage, revealing Katrin tied and gagged, her face frozen with fear and dread.

Ladis heard footsteps behind him, and spun around.

What he met were figures draped in white robes with conical white hats, each robe bearing the mark of the KKK. They were armed with automatic handguns, leveling them at Ladis' heart.

"I think we've had a rough start, these 14 years." Spoke Ladis' father over the intercom. "and I'm willing to give you a chance to join our family… the pure family… and make something of yourself."

The Klansmen were slowly backing Ladis towards the stage, where more Klansmen had appeared.

Ladis turned, and saw, to his disbelief, his family, Miss Kellsin, her arm in a brace, and Frankson, all dressed in the same Klansmen robes.

_This is a nightmare. _Ladis told himself. _A complete and total nightmare. _Did he hit his head during graduation? Had he dreamed the whole impossible scenario up of his entire family being Klansmen?

No. The coldness of the theatre, Katrin's muffled sobs, and the automatics at his back were very real, very real indeed.

Ladis' father work a faceless mask, revealing a twisted, evil smile Ladis' thought only demons were capable of. "But in order for you to join us… you have to prove you're willing to follow our rules." With that, he produced an automatic, and held it out to Ladis. "This girl has no doubt been tainted by that mudskin friend of yours, and can no longer exist in our future purity. If you want to join us, and prove yourself, then kill her." Ladis' father ordered, as if he were asking as simple a favor as taking out garbage.

Ladis looked at Katrin, her face full of fear.

_In the end, you got one person you have to answer to. Make sure you do stuff you'll be proud of when it's time. _Gutarez's words rang in Ladis' mind.

Ladis stepped away, shaking his head. "No."

Mr. Jadesdale's face contorted in fury. "Wrong answer."

Ladis felt his head snap to his left, his right, then crash against the floor as his own father hit him with a lightning quick boxer's combo.

"Get up Ladis, and for once in your goddamned life, do something right!" his father barked, kicking him in the stomach.

Ladis closed his eyes at the pain, then his expression hardened. Once again, something inside of him snapped.

"You know what? I THINK I WILL!"

In a movement so fast no one could react, Ladis grabbed his dowel, rammed his father in the gut with it, snatched away the gun, and fired it.

Mr. Jadesdale fell to the ground, clutching his shoulder.

The other Klansmen moved in, but Ladis, using his staff and left arm to hold his father in an armhold, pointed the gun at his head, backing up to where Katrin was.

"One move, and he dies."

Mr. Jadesdale, his good arm ruined, hissed in pain. "You kill me, they'll fill you full of holes. You're backed up against a wall now, Ladis. There's no way out."

Terce drew his gun and leveled it at Ladis, ready to fire on the first open area he saw.

Ladis looked around. Nothing would serve as an appropriate distraction. He glanced at Katrin's bonds, then at the spotlight, the only source of illumination in the room.

Ladis made a short, silent prayer to the God he felt had nigh on abandoned him, and moved.

Kicked his father into the largest mass of Klansmen on the stage.

Tossed his staff into the air, away from the stage.

Grabbed Katrin's chair with his now free hand, picked it up with adrenaline enhanced strength, leapt off the stage, and fired at the spotlight.

Landed, set down Katrin, grabbed his staff, fired at the largest know he saw before the light went out.

Grabbed a now freed Katrin, and dashed towards the exit, hearing absolute pandemonium occur on the stage, shots firing on where the Klansmen thought Ladis was.

Katrin wasted no time in putting all her speed into getting out of the building,

Ladis lingering behind to give her cover fire at a few Klansmen who'd spotted their dash.

_Just a few more steps…_

Terce stood in front of the exit, his knives ready. "Hello, shit." He said menacingly, blocking both Katrin and Ladis' path.

Ladis simply fired his remaining round into his brother's left leg, and swept him aside with his dowel. "Goodbye, brother." He said, discarding the now empty handgun.

As he and Katrin dashed outside, Ladis stopped abruptly, and turned around, smiling a grim, knowing grin.

The Klansmen, along with a now furious and wounded Mr. Jadesdale, had caught up with him, there faces reflecting wonder at why the hell he had stopped…

Mr. Jadesdale screeched to a halt, his hand holding his injured arm, as did the other Klansmen, their weapons hanging limply.

"Oh." He said simply.

It seemed that every single police cruiser in the city had converged on that one theater. The officers held shotguns, rifles, automatics, and other such weapons, leveled at the Klansmen that were about to converge en masse on Ladis. Quite a few of the officers had aimed their weapons at Ladis, in case he was a party to this.

Over a loudspeaker came an officer's voice.

"Party's over, fuckers. Drop your weapons and lay face down on the ground, or I'll give the command to open fire."

Ladis and the Klansmen numbly dropped their weapons and laid face down. Almost as soon as Ladis dropped, a pair of officers roughly hoisted him up, took his staff, and patted him down for weapons.

"Clean!" One of the two shouted.

Ladis thought that voice sounded familiar. Now why…

"Oh noooooo…" Ladis moaned, as he saw the faces of the two officers.

They were the exact two who had arrested Ladis and Derrick a few days ago.

"Been busy, kid?"

Ladis, shaking his head, put his hands behind his head.

_Well, _he thought to himself. _This is certainly a memorable night._

Things got blurry after that.

Ladis was put in a separate cell, away from the Klansmen, for obvious reasons. He passed the time looking up at the ceiling from his bed, until an officer announced he was being released after they had reviewed the evidence and interviewed Katrin and her family.

"You keep this sort of stuff up, we're drafting you into SWAT, kid." The officer joked. But Ladis failed to see the humor.

_My family tried to kill someone else to get at me._

_I am indirectly responsible for everything that's happened._

As he stepped into the lobby of the precinct, his staff back in his hands, Ladis saw the faces of both Derrick and Katrin's families. Faces of regret, faces of joy, faces of relief.

No words were exchanged, partly because Ladis couldn't think of anything appropriate to say at the moment.

It was a very quiet ride back home.

_Sometimes…_

_You can scream and pray and chant to whatever god you want to believe in and you'll receive no answer._

_You can live a saint's life and do all the morally right things and people will still label you a monster and a delinquent._

_You can eat all the right foods and never smoke a cigarette and get cancer._

_Sometimes I wish I could stop waking up to this world._

_But the world I live my dreams in isn't pretty either._

_Sometimes I just want to stop._

entry in Ladis' Journal

"You're sure about this?"

"We're nearly there."

"There's still time to turn around…"

"Not for me. Sorry."

And so it was decided with that short and sweet conversation that Ladis would remain at the destination Gutarez had driven him to- a church far from the city limits in a nigh desert area. The normally parching heat was dimmed by a thick veil of clouds hanging overhead, growing darker and darker every moment.

Katrin and Derrick had come along to see Ladis off, saying it was the least they could do in return for him saving Katrin's life.

"I didn't save your life. I nearly got you killed." Ladis wanted to say, but kept his mouth shut, said it was all right, and left it at that.

A priest came out of the door of St. Matthew's, his body weakened by time, but radiating a strong sense of spiritual health as he greeted Ladis.

"Welcome to your new home, child. You are Ladis, correct?"

"Yes, father." Ladis said, hoping not to start things off on the wrong foot.

"Call me Garadien. More formal." He said, and his eyes twinkled.

Gutarez started carrying Ladis' possessions- his one suitcase, inside. Garadien turned, then halted, suddenly, as if remembering something.

He looked at Ladis, and Ladis saw, that, if it was possible, the man had grown even more pale.

"Tell me, child, how did you come to be here?"

Ladis looked down at the ground. "My parents were going to throw me out at graduation, so Gutarez told me you needed help here."

At this, the priest stepped back as if thunderstruck.

Ladis felt concerned at this expression of dismay and wonder on the priest's face. Had something gone wrong? Was there no work for him?

"You… can use help, right?" asked Ladis nervously.

"Y…yes. Yes, I have something you can help me with…" Garadien replied, turning away, walking as fast as he could into the chapel.

Derrick and Katrin walked up to Ladis, having overheard the conversation.

"What was _that_ all about?" asked Katrin after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

Ladis shrugged. "I have no clue."

Thunder rumbled slowly overhead, urging Ladis and his friends to seek shelter.

"Father Jehovah, I speak to you now. I have seen your visions, your gifts of sights to be, and I am ready to follow your will." Garadien spoke, kneeling at his bed, having locked the door to his room after excusing himself from a bewildered Ladis and company.

"But I do not wish to condemn a young soul to such a fate needlessly. If this is the one you told me in dreams would come to do your will, then say so, and place your troubled servant's heart at rest. If not, then say no to me, and prevent the needless suffering of an innocent." He prayed.

Garadien's head jerked up, the answer forming clearly in his mind. His eyes went wide, then closed slowly.

"Thy will be done, oh Lord. I know not thy ways, nor the ends that such means shall seek, but I shall do thy will."

"But… lord of lords, he who has tested and sheltered me in calm and wild… I beseech you one favor…"

"…be merciful on him…"

With that final prayer, Garadien rose, on shaky legs, and, slowly, walked to where Ladis waited.

The time had come. There was no turning back.

The Gutarez's and Katrin said their last goodbyes to Ladis, then drove off, back towards the city. Ladis watched the car fade into the horizon, then walked back inside.

_Time to go to work._

Garadien met him in the entrance, his eyes… reflecting a strange sadness, like someone about to do something they did not wish to have any part in.

"Are you ready, my child?" he asked, at length.

Ladis nodded. "Whatever it is, I think I can handle it." Ladis said, his voice showing confidence.

Garadien turned, beckoning Ladis to follow.

"I hope, for your sake, that you are correct." He said quietly, never meeting Ladis' eyes.

The words chilled Ladis a bit, but, after a short walk, they were in a vast library, where countless tomes and books lay in great lines on shelves. Looking around, Ladis could easily swear he was in a center for all knowledge, where the entire history of humanity- and then some- was stored.

"We… must initiate you with a prayer, my child. A special prayer." Garadien said, sliding a silver-covered book towards Ladis.

"Now, listen carefully, as this ritual must be done with utmost reverence. Turn to the first page, and read out loud the words you see. Do not stop reading until you have finished the page." Garadien said, his eyes scanning the floor.

Ladis shrugged. _Probably a religious rite,_ he thought. Opening the book, he turned to the first page, and began to read.

_By the power of the father and son,_

_I bid unto this world these things be done,_

_All worlds new and all of wonder,_

_Restore those things tore asunder_

_By the power, blessing, and blood of the lamb,_

_I deny death, let fate be damned,_

_I invest my body, mind, and soul_

_To walk this path, to make the broken whole_

As Ladis finished the last words, thunder roared ominously, as if to signify something had… awakenedGaradien kept a calm demeanor, but his face paled.

"Very good, my child. It is time to show your… new profession." Garadien said, indicating an oaken door.

Ladis started towards the door.

"Wait, take this, you'll… need it." Garadien said, tossing Ladis his dowel.

Ladis' eyes shot up quizzically, but he took the staff, and placed his hand on the doorknob.

"And Ladis?" the priest said quietly, it voice almost a whisper.

"What, Garadien?" Ladis said, as he began to turn the knob.

Garadien looked up, and his eyes spilled silver tears. "I am truly sorry."

Ladis looked bewildered at the unexpected apology, then opened the door, seeing…

"What in the name of…!"

A blinding light enveloped him, his screams abruptly cut off, as he vanished.

In a blinding flash, he and the door were gone. There was no hole where a door should be, simply a dry church wall.

Garadien fell to his knees, and prayed to his God for two things.

That both Ladis and all humanity would forgive him one day for what he had done in the name of good.

Outside, the world was going mad. Windstorms swept debris and anything not rooted to the earth up towards a chaotic portal of starbursts and flashing plasma-like lightning, everything touching the portal disappearing into it's ever growing mass. First small bushes were uprooted. Then large stones and trees. Soon, large chunks of the earth itself were stretching upwards and breaking off, being sucked towards the portal, in some sort of macabre parody of a technological avant-garde work of art.

Garadien, from his church's doorway, watched as the world, the sky, the very fabric of this reality was absorbed into the chaotic maw that was the portal.

He felt himself being drawn into the rift, and gave no resistance.

For good or ill, better or worse, he let himself share the fate he had condemned Ladis, earth… the entire universe to.

There was no pain as he was sucked into the rift. Only a peace he had never known before.

"Thy will be done."

Ladis first heard himself breathing. He listening to the sound a little while, making sure it was real. After the phantasmagoric nightmare of… there couldn't be human words to describe the images that flashed before his eyes and mind as he was sucked through the door, he dared not to look around.

He moved his arms. His left was okay, his right fine, his right hand still had a death grip on his dowel rod. He was lying, face down, on something smooth and cool.

His legs weren't hurt, either. Nothing was hurt. That left only one thing to check.

Sight.

Slowly, Ladis opened his eyes, wanting to only catch but a glimpse of the…

Nothingness?

Ladis' eyes opened fully, he got to his feet, and he looked around.

All about him was blackness. It was if he were inside a large sphere that had it's interior painted jet black, and from where he was standing…

Wait a second… what WAS he standing on?

Looking down, he saw he was standing on… now, this had to be a dream… a pathway carved entirely of crystal, smooth as glass, and translucent, but clear enough that Ladis could see that the same void existed below.

Ladis turned around, as if by instinct, and saw that this path lead a winding trail towards (and here, Ladis had to do a double-take) a floating mansion, pure white, with pillars supporting it's overhead. From where he was, he could see that the door to this mansion was wide open. From within, a low, glowing light emanated, beckoning him… calling him to it.

Not wanting to stay in this… nothingness longer that necessary, Ladis walked the precarious trail towards the mansion with a foundation of air…

The glow revealed a hallway, with picture frames adorning the sides of the halls. As Ladis climbed the steps to the door, feeling the light beckon him, he saw that the source was a series of gold torches that illuminated the pictures on the walls.

The floors of the mansion were marble, as were the walls. There was a door at the end of the path, and there were no other paths than the main hallway, so Ladis began to walk.

Looking at the pictures, Ladis stifled a laugh. These… these were video game characters… fictional persons he had seen in magazines and comics! He fought the urge to laugh at the posing of these characters in these portraits, and then noticed something.

The portraits all had one thing in common: Below them, a gold plaque described the characters as victims of odium… but wasn't odium another word for hate?

Ladis continued down the hall, and the pictures… along with their plagues, grew more dark, more ominous.

The heroes who had been showing off victory poses in the previous pictures now were shown battling nightmarish creatures of… blackness, there was no other word for the horrifying incarnations of malevolence, and were coming up short.

The pictures depicted these heroes being sealed in some of rift, being cast into portals of darkness by these malevolent shadows, to await some sort of horrible fate.

The plagues now read: "Odium came and devoured all. Magic and swords prevailed not, and the prayers and screams of the just and innocent were smothered by everlasting darkness. The heroes, their efforts in vain, watched helplessly as their friends and families were condemned along with them to horrible fates determined by the Dreamslayers."

"Dreamslayers?" Ladis wondered aloud. The pictures of innocent men and women screaming as they were flung into blackness depressed him beyond words, so he moved on.

The last eight pictures depicted eight monstrosities that Ladis believed to exist only in nightmares… but, then again, with the sheer unreality of this entire ordeal, perhaps he was _indeed _in a nightmare…

The first was a Gargantuan lizard-beast, his maw a large mass of jagged teeth and a serpent-like tongue. He was named Greed, bringer of despair. The next was Desecration, a sort of demonic mermaid-siren hybrid, the tainting of the mind. Next was Hatred, a minotaur cloaked in flame, labeled the tormentor of all the innocent. Apathy, an ice-garbed maiden with cruel winter eyes. Cruelty, a gigantic skeleton with bone wings and a crossbow of bone to match. Rage, which might of very well been taken from some pen and paper game, a monstrous combination of dragon and tiger with eight arms, four of which both held spears that crackled with lightning, the luminous paint used to depict the sparks and bolts making them seem as it they could spring out and strike at any moment. Judgment, the remorseless revealer, he was called, was a giant old sage with a long grey beard and a judge's gavel, with cruel, merciless eyes, a light that was not so much illuminating as it seemed glaring depicted coming from behind his back. Finally, there was Blasphemy, a sinister demon cloaked in grey robes, holding a mask of a kind, gentle man, extending a glass of wine to the viewer. He was named the deception of the innocent into doing evil in the name of good.

As Ladis viewed the last picture, he saw he was at the end of the hallway, before him, a door not unlike the one he opened at the church.

There was no other way back where came for him to go, so, gripping his staff, and bracing himself, he flung open the door…

…revealing a throne room with a clown, his garb a checkered suit of black and white, his face bearing paint- at least it appeared to be paint- matching his garb. He sat on a simple throne, constantly shuffling a deck of cards.

He looked up at Ladis, surprised, a genuine look of shock on his comical face, then, he smiled. Not a sinister smile, but an impish grin more comical that it was diabolical.

"First things first, kiddo. Good news-Bad news time." he snapped his fingers, and a large, oversized trophy appeared before Ladis, bearing the inscription "100 sane!... For now…" on it. "The good news is, no, you're not delusional. The bad news is…" he snapped his fingers again, and the trophy morphed into a spider-like demon, laughing at Ladis' fearful leap back, and disappearing in a puff of blue smoke… "…you're going to wish you were."

Ladis finally found his voice. "Where am I?"

At that, the clown laughed, and jumped off the throne into an elaborate one-hand headstand. "Where you're not is more appropriate. You are nowhere and everywhere, kid. This is the everything, and nothing. The infinite, and the infinitesimal." He paused, and sprang again into a standing position, never dropping his deck of cards he continued to shuffle. "And if that makes your head feel like it's going to explode, please go outside. I just cleaned the place 500 years ago." He said, continuing to shuffle his deck.

He saw Ladis' confusion, and stopped. "Oh, yes. You're probably confused after all this. I'm guessing you have absolutely no clue what the hell you just experienced, or why you're here. Am I correct, slappo?" He said, now floating on air, sitting Indian style, resting his grinning head on his hands.

"The priest… Garadien… he had me read a book, then walk through a door, and… here I am." Ladis said, trying to fit into 5 seconds the impossibilities he'd experienced.

The clown laughed, nearly falling out of the air. "Old Garadien made the invocation work, did he? Crazy bastard. If anyone could do that, it'd be him." The clown again roared with giggles and laughter.

"Oh, but I'm being rude. You need explanations. I can arrange that, but I can't guarantee they'll be the one's you want to hear."

Ladis nodded. "Anything sounds good right now, pal."

"Please, call me Fortune." At Ladis' bewildered look, the clown explained. "I'm the incarnation of probability and improbability. The randomness of life. I'm the twenty you find stuck to your shoe and the bird that crash-lands in your skull on a roller-coaster." He made a slight bow.

"Anyway, back to why and how you're here. You see, Ladis, something reaaaaaally craptastic happened a while back." And as Ladis began to start a question, Fortune held a hand up. "Please don't ask when it happened… it's a long story, and thinking about it makes my head hurt like the dickens."

"Anyway, to put in terms you'd understand: Ever read a book or played a game and wished it was real? That you could live in that world instead of your own?" Fortune asked, continuing to shuffle his deck in more intricate and ludicrous fashions.

"Yeah… all the time." Ladis said, slowly.

"The funny thing is, that, at one time, a lot of those "fake worlds" were real. Noticed how I said, "were real"."

Ladis blinked. "What do you mean?"

The clown sighed, and, for the first time, he seemed depressed. "There were a bunch of worlds, actually. All of them ignorant of each other, but happy. They had heroes and villains, and I used to watch all the comedy and tragedy, the heroism and the downfalls as these worlds developed, raised heroes, fought wars, made peace, and repeated the whole damn process again just for the hell of it. Never a dull moment." He said, sighing wistfully.

"So what happened?" Ladis asked, his curiosity peaked.

"Fate happened. Nasty-tempered sonofabitch. He sent this crap called Odium to imprison these worlds in a place called the "Neverafter". You could call it a sort of Pseudo-hell, because from what I've heard, things ain't so hot for those poor schmucks anymore."

"You're saying that those video games…"

"There's a reason for that, kiddo. You see, life's funny. It doesn't like someone to just disappear without dying naturally or unnaturally. So, in the last remaining realm, your realm, people started having visions of various worlds, their happenings, and started making money off them." At this, Fortune scowled. "I'd hate them for charging for what I saw for free, but they were unaware that what they were doing." Fortune sighed.

Ladis absorbed all of this, shaking his head. Even though it was beyond ridiculous, it made sense… sort of.

"So… why am I here?" Ladis asked after a few seconds.

Fortune smiled. "Glad you asked. You, my fine soul-filled friend, have been chosen to be the one to revive these worlds!" he said, making a grandiose gesture.

Ladis nearly fell over. "Me! Why me?" he cried.

Fortune smiled a sad grin. "You went through a lot of unpleasant crud in your life, didn't you, Ladis? Never caught a break up until the end, and even then everything started going to pieces." Fortune sighed. "It sucked, I won't deny you that, but it prepared you, in a way."

"Prepared me for what?" asked Ladis, still in shock.

Fortune's normally comical grin melted into one of deep thought. "Odium's nasty stuff. It drains the will to live from people. It's living malice and hatred and all the piss and vinegar of every asshole on earth and their entire families in a nasty, unhealthy slop. You've grown accustomed to dealing with hatred and anger, and have developed… a sort of immunity to that sort of thing. Odium won't hurt you as badly as it would me or anybody else."

Ladis took this in, his mind reeling. "What about Gutarez, my friends? Where are they?"

Fortune smiled. "Yeah, I was told you were the selfless type. More concerned about your friends than your own problems. Another reason the boss chose you. They're in a state of suspended animation. If you manage to revive a world, they'll most lively wind up there once all the Odium is purged."

"And if I fail?" asked Ladis nervously.

Fortune stopped shuffling, wearing a very sad, very scared smile. "Then we, my friend, are screwed. Royally. As in, buh-bye world, hello, inky nasty hellhole." He said, trying and failing to put a comical spin on such a despairing turn of events.

Ladis stood in thought for a moment, then slowly, his eyes rose to meet Fortune's.

"What do I have to do to save these worlds?" he said, cold determination ringing in his voice.

"I can't help you with that. He, on the other hand, can." and he gestured to his left, where out of nowhere, a man, his face best described as elven, with long blue hair and a wizard-looking outfit, stood somberly. He seemed at most in his mid-twenties, and held a cane tipped with a large orb.

"I'm sorry, Ladis… for what I did to you." The mage spoke, his voice reflecting power, but sorrow as well.

Ladis remembered that voice, the same spiritual energy that permeated every word. "…Garadien?" he spoke at length.

The mage smiled sadly. "Do you hate me, Ladis? Do you hate me for what I did?"

Ladis shook his head. "No, I don't."

The mage sighed. "Don't speak too soon. You may have reason to curse my very soul when all is said and done."

Ladis shook his head. "We'll deal with that when it comes. Fortune said you can help me restore these realms that… Fate has trapped."

Garadien looked at Ladis now with awe and respect. "You will… accept such a task?..."

Ladis nodded. "Before I came here, a good man told me that heroes aren't heroes because they were given the easy decisions to make. I don't have anywhere else to go, and, apparently, I'm the only one suited for the job." He said, his confidence returning to him, his fear dissipating. "I'm ready to start my work, Garadien."

Garadien's sorrowful demeanor was then replaced with determination to match Ladis'. "Then raise your staff, Ladis, and concentrate on nothing."

Ladis, obeying Garadien's commands, raised his dowel rod with his right hand, and closed his eyes.

"Spirit of God, the light that dispels all evil, I bring into thee a new vessel for thy righteous fury!"

Garadien eyes glowed white, and he grabbed hold of Ladis' staff. "His soul accepts the burden and the power of the soulblazer! His spirit screams for the revival of the just and the demise of the corrupt! Let the saint's anger be his sword, their faith be his shield!" Garadien roared, white lightning flowing from him through the staff into Ladis' who absorbed it into his body with seemingly no ill effects, except now he was levitating a good three inches of the floor.

"The armor of sorrow and joy, the incarnate of the selfless warrior… I bid the armor of the Actraiser Master be bound unto thee!"

With these final words, the staff Ladis held split into four glowing orbs of light, which flew, circled his body, then landed on his forearms and forelegs.

And as they wrapped around the appendages, even Garadien and Fortune had to shield their eyes from the intense light that ensued…

Ladis felt his feet touch the floor, his staff gone from his hand.

As he opened his eyes, he saw that his extended arm now had a silver gauntlet on the forearm, as did his left, and his hands were both covered with metallic fingerless gloves, the backs having runes inscribed on them.

Looking down, he saw his forelegs were wrapped in leg guards of the same silver material, beginning just below his knees and ending at his feet, yet giving him plenty of room to move. Neither the armguards nor the leg guards seemed cumbersome, in fact, they seemed to be giving Ladis strength, strength he would need for the task that lay ahead.

"Whoa. Spiffy." Said Fortune, after a period of awe and silence.

Garadien recovered from his shock, and his eyes met Ladis'. "Now you must learn to use the power you have been given. Hold out either arm, and envision a sword.''

Ladis held out his right arm, and envisioned a blade. Instinctively, he grasped his hand, and felt it wrap around something solid. When he opened his eyes, he saw that he held a bar of pure blue energy, the blade about three feet from the top of his fist to the tip, and a shorter stub sticking out below his hand, like the grip of a real sword,

Giving it a few practice swings at the empty space, Ladis felt it to have weight enough to give him a feel for it, yet not enough to encumber him.

"That energy is called the Soul Blade. It's your will and your faith focused into a blade of light that can destroy odium. As you grow stronger, it will grow stronger."

Garadien explained.

"Now let's move onto defense. Hold your arms in front of you, like you were blocking an attack, and envision a wall between you and me."

Ladis crossed his arms in front of him, and, as he did, a rippling in the air began to waver in front of him. "That's called a Soul Barrier. If you need to defend yourself against an attack and you can't dodge, this could save your life." To illustrate this point, Garadien raised his hand, and fired a lightning bolt at Ladis. While the barrier absorbed the bolt, Ladis lost his balance, and was thrown backward, barely able to regain his balance from the sudden shock.

"But extremely strong attacks can still break through, so be careful. Now, as for movement, try jumping."

Ladis crouched and jumped, reaching easily five feet, and landed in a crouch, a bit shocked from the sudden boost in height.

"How did I…"

"The leg armor boosts your running speed and jumping ability. You can even use it's power to dash extremely fast for short periods, but keep in mind the boost in speed will fade quickly, and takes time to recharge." Garadien stated simply.

Ladis nodded.

"Finally, there is one other thing. As you absorb the latent magical energy of foes you defeat, you'll be able to learn magic."

Ladis' eyes shot open. "Are you serious!"

Garadien smiled and stretched his arms indicated their surroundings. "Yes, I'm serious. You're wearing magical armor that produces lethal swords of light. You got your job description from a jester that can float in midair. Surely the idea you'll be able to wield the supernatural isn't too ludicrous."

Ladis scratched his head. "No, I guess it isn't, really. So, how do I go about learning magic?"

Garadien nodded. "Right on to that, then. To utilize magic, you need to defeat and absorb the latent magical energy Fate imbued in his odium creatures. Don't worry, once their form is destroyed, the magical energy, called "aether", reverts to neutral. You won't be harmed by it." Garadien said, putting any fears at ease.

"Now, aether is divided into two main types. Innersoul and Outersoul Aether. Innersoul Aether is what allows living things to channel magic more efficiently."

Ladis held his head in thought. "Do I have any?" he asked.

Garadien nodded. "Yes, though, like any starting mage, it's a bit weak. As you get stronger, however, so will it. Now Innersoul Aether provides two things- both added power in using of magic and defense against the magic of others. It's like magical muscle and bone, respectively."

Ladis nodded, indicating he'd understood.

"Now, Outersoul Aether is split into three different types. This is the aether that helps you actually gain magic for permanent use. There's Black Aether, furious and reactive, which can be easily shaped into magics of elemental destruction. White Aether, which promotes healing and birth, which can imbue healing magic. Jikku, or Time Aether, is the essence of holding things together, and allows for the manipulation of time and space." Garadien stated.

Ladis nodded. "Three types of Outersoul- Black, White, and Jikku. Got it."

Then a thought struck him. "How will I know what I'm absorbing, and how do I do that?"

Garadien smiled. "With that armor, it'll be automatic. As for knowing… well, you'll know. It's a bit like smelling different smells. You will simply… _know._"

Ladis wondered what Garadien meant by this odd explanation. Did he mean it would be obvious, or what?

Garadien sighed. "That, I'm afraid, is all I can teach you. It's time now for you to start purging the odium from the realms." With a wave, a door appeared in the far right wall.

"Where does that lead?" asked Ladis, his stance showing caution.

"To a place once pure of true evil and hatred… now, tainted by Despair's influence, it's inhabitants are condemned to die again and again, always falling short of things they wanted to do in the short time they are allowed to live, yet reborn again each morning to experience once more the agony of death and the sorrow of futility." Garadien said, his face somber.

"But if I kill Despair…" Ladis said, hopefully.

"If you kill Despair, life will return to that realm and all its inhabitants. But first, you must do something that will awaken Despair to actually have reason to defend against an attack."

Ladis turned to Garadien, not sure of what he meant. "Such as…?"

"At the center of each Nightmare Citadel, there is a sphere of malevolent energy called a "Demon Heart", the source of the Dreamslayer's power over that realm. When it is destroyed, only the Dreamslayer can restore it, and will no doubt appear somewhere nearby in that realm to find who did such a thing. I'd suggest you prepare yourself as best you can for such a battle- as it will easily be the hardest challenge in your life." Garadien warned, his stern tone indicating that whatever lay ahead would not be an easy task.

Ladis started towards the door.

"And, Ladis?"

Ladis halted for a moment.

"Good luck. You'll need it." Said Garadien in a low tone.

Ladis nodded, and placed his hand on the door, bracing himself.

_It's showtime._

Opening the door, he closed his eyes as the same chaotic light embraced him, enveloped him, and disappeared, the door closing, leaving no sign of Ladis.

Garadien turned to Fortune. "Do you think he can do it?"

Fortune continued to shuffle his cards, then held them out in a fan, face down. "Pick a card, any card."

Garadien sighed, then decided to go along with Fortune's odd method of divination.

Taking a random card, he looked at it, his brow furrowed, then glared at Fortune. "What kind of joke is this? This isn't the time for comedy!" he growled, showing Fortune the card.

Fortune looked at it, puzzled, then read the rest of his enchanted cards. One of his gifts was that he could let a person draw a random card to see if someone was capable of succeeding at a certain task, but this…

"Well," said Fortune, revealing the rest of the deck. "this certainly is a new sight."

The entire deck, the card Garadien drew included, were blank except for a simple few words written in small font.

_Only time will tell._

Ladis, bracing himself for an experience similar to the nightmarish transition he first experienced when he stepped through the door at the church, fared far better now that he knew what was coming.

He found himself, after the chaotic starbursts and flashes subsided, standing on a beach, with blood-red waters and withered palm trees, and devoid of any sort of life, with a dead, cloudy, grey sky overhead, the sun a dim light through the thick blanket of clouds that seems to try to choke any light out of the sky.

A ruined shack leaned on rotted walls against a small rock formation, and a tattered, ruined bridge connected the main island to another, smaller one, which seemed to be slowly bobbing up and down in the crimson waters, ever sinking into the murky depths.

The air reeked with the stench of rotted fish, and the reason soon became apparent- in the bloody waters, Ladis saw multiple fish floating at the surface, motionless. Further up on the beach, a waterfall poured the same, stagnant crimson water into a pool. Along the rock wall, the ruins of what may have been a crude series of wooden tree houses could be seen.

To put it lightly, the island had clearly seen better days.

"You're new here." A deep, mournful voice said behind him.

Ladis spun around, and saw… a man, his form translucent, like a ghost's, standing on the beach, clad in black robes, his skin dark like Derrick's, his hair silver, his expression forlorn.

"Who are you?" Ladis asked, staying where he was.

The figure laughed bitterly. "What I was… was a fool. Fool to a greater evil. A good man turned to darkness, playing the fool. Fool in life, a fool in death." The specter sighed. "But… those who care to give me name call me Ansem."

Ladis stepped toward him. "What happened here?"

The figure named Ansem sighed. "You truly are new to this barren world. What happened here, my friend, was Fate. Fate happened." He said, spreading his spectral arms to indicate the ruins. "They… they fought bravely against those… THINGS, but, in the end… this happened. Despair now reigns over this island, this world, and all worlds here…" Ansem said, his voice quavering. "And to think I once helped such things along…"

Ladis saw this man was in a state of utter sorrow, and decided, for the moment, not to pry as to how he'd helped. In the distance, faint cries could be heard.

Ansem raised his head slightly at the noise. "It's starting." He said, as if predicting a catastrophe.

From overhead, in the sky, Ladis could hear the low, increasing roar of something falling at great speed.

"Sora!" came a small girl's voice from the left end of the island. Turning his head, Ladis could see that a young girl, her clothes tattered, was limping hurriedly towards the other end.

"Kairi!" Now a boy emerged from the right side, running towards the girl.

"We'll make it! Keep running!" the boy shouted.

The girl limped as fast as she could. "I can't…"

"You can, Kairi! Hang on, I'm coming!" yelled the boy, doubling his speed.

The roar of the celestial object in fall grew ever louder.

Ansem turned to Ladis, his face sorrowful. "They won't make it. They never have, never will." He stated, his voice barely hearable over the roar of the ever falling object.

Ladis looked up, and saw a giant fireball was falling, it's point of impact becoming tragically clear.

"Oh God, no!" Ladis breathed. The fireball was headed right where the boy and girl would meet.

Desperately, Ladis looked for cover, for shelter, someway to avert either his or the children's deaths. As if reading his mind, Ansem stated. "There's no way. I've tried. They don't listen to anyone but each other."

The two seemed like they would make it…

Then the fireball, large around as a small truck, struck in between them, exploding in a searing wave of flame and fire that quickly spread at impossible speed, reducing the boy and girl to ash instantly.

Ladis held up his hands, activated the Soul Barrier in a futile attempt, bracing himself for the worst of the flames.

All around him was flame and heat. But Ladis wasn't burned, his shield stood strong, not even fazed by the flames.

When the dust and smoke settled (Which Ladis had to wave away with his hands frantically) he saw the devastation the impact has caused. The rock wall, the tree house ruins were gone, all that remained were a few pieces of smoking rubble. In the middle was a deep, massive crater where the object had landed.

"You're… still alive?" gasped Ansem.

Turning, Ladis saw that Ansem's depressed expression had turned into one of amazement, seeing that Ladis was unharmed.

"Yeah… I'm fine…" said Ladis. He looked about futilely for any sign of survivors other than he. There were none, save for the shade named Ansem.

"Incredible. It's a miracle…" said Ansem, who's gaze now rested on the gauntlets and leg armor Ladis bore. "Absolutely incredible…" he looked up at Ladis expectedly. "Are you the one…?"

"If you mean the guy who supposed to kick these "Dreamslayers" asses, then yes, I'm the guy." Ladis said, nodding.

A thought struck him. "Uh, listen… do you know where a "Nightmare Citadel" is?" he asked Ansem, expecting the shade to shake his head or say that he had no idea what he was talking about.

Instead, however, the shade lifted a shaking spectral arm and pointed at the crater. "There… inside the crater you will find, deep underground, the lair of the demon Despair, the Nightmare Citadel of earth. I have attempted to enter it, but the Odium repels me without fail each time, as I am without magic or weapon in this form." He said sadly.

Ladis nodded, and ran towards the crater. Looking down, he saw a crude stairwell leading into the inky blackness. An aura of hopelessness and ill-will hit him like heat from an oven, but he remained unfazed.

Forming the soul blade in his right hand, and gripping the bottom portion with his left, he found the blade burned even brighter, grew a bit longer, a sure sign that gripping the weapon with both hands intensified it's power.

Pushing aside all fear, Ladis charged down into the dark abyss of the crater, running down the steps without hesitating…

The war against Fate had begun.


	2. First blood drawn

OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS:

Path of Eternal Nightmares

_Sometimes this life, is so cruel in abuses,_

_that keeping on going seems totally useless,_

_with all the day's worries, and every condemnation,_

_everything around us becomes only frustration_

_But don't give up hope yet,_

_Every dark tunnel has its light_

_Keep walking the walk,_

_Keep up the good fight_

Ballad Of The Unnamed Bard, Verse II

CHAPTER 2: BATTLE AGAINST DESPAIR, DEMON OF DEVOURED HOPES

Life for Fate was good.

His servants obeyed him without question. Those imbeciles, those infernal fools whom had denied him the authority to kill his sister, Faith, with their foolish laws and morals, now were under his control, having been imprisoned by the odium storm. He devised a fitting punishment for them… forever to chisel in hard clay, with their bare fingers and stripped of all magic, their every fault and transgression, their work illuminated only by huge, crude torches that accepted only two types of fuel, one readily available: Their bibles, their moralistic guide. If the torches ever went out for refusal to burn their sacred books, then their children would be brought in to be offered to the barbaric torches as fuel. Any resistance in his former superiors was broken, when, to illustrate the fact no exceptions would be made, he threw a four-year old girl into one of the gigantic torches as a warning to the others.

They never could die, of course. They would arise from the ashes every so often, the pain so vividly fresh in their minds, that any resistance that would have been seeded in the young was instantly and irrevocably quelled. No, death was too lenient a punishment. Eternal retribution in pain and suffering would be needed to sate his wrath.

He sat on an ivory throne, his scythe at his right hand, enjoying a goblet of ambrosia of pain, an ink black liquor-like substance formed from the utter sorrow and pain of all under his rule. He had no need of food, the mage who had given him such power had told him, but, the mage had added, this would sate his new hunger that sustained him- the pain and hopelessness of others.

He imbibed deeply of the black liquor, tasting all the sorrow, all the futile rage, the anger, the humiliation, the indignity, the sheer hopelessness of all living things he had in his grasp.

He smiled a loathsome grin. Who needed the self-destructing, minimal pleasures rumored to come with procreation processes when he had this? No degrading himself to animalistic level to further his lineage, and no need to, either. He was an immortal god, the mage had told him, who could only be slain if his grasp on the worlds he'd conquered was broken.

And, he thought to himself, that was a sheer impossibility, no questions asked. All the heroes of those realms suffered an appropriate, eternal punishment along with the rest of the doomed inhabitants. One he personally enjoyed devising, he remembered with glee, was the fate of an innocent realm, where a fool known as the Keybearer, a young boy, was said to live.

The futile resistance the boy offered was utterly crushed by Despair, no contest. As punishment for his crimes of living a life like those idealized by his mentally deficient former superiors, the boy and his young lady friend would be placed on opposite ends of the island they knew as home. They would know where the other was, and would, in their primitive emotions, dash to the other to console one another.

Fate found it utterly hilarious to make sure that this fool's lady friend suffered a rather amusing handicap- a permanent limp for her entire, futile sprint.

He allowed them to always get close enough to see each others face, to think they would make it… and then, (and at this thought he could not help but to laugh out loud) a gigantic meteor would strike, vaporizing the foolish lovers as they came so close to an embrace. Again and again, each morning, this cycle would repeat. He wondered when they'd stop trying to reach each other. But, as he had suspected, they never had. So many countless years, and they never did anything but try their best to reach one another!

He chuckled malevolently at this thought. He supposed, in the outdated, prehistoric morals of his former society, that sort of behavior would be praised as tenacity and perseverance. He had a different, more suitable name for it: IDIOCY! Idiots seeking the love of idiots! And they kept trying different routes to one another, trying to outrun the fiery destiny that Fate had condemned them to!

Idiocy upon idiocy!

He got up, walked down from his ivory throne, viewing the ebony halls constructed of stable odium, his castle, his palace.

Nothing could possibly go wrong now, he mused. He was God here, the master of this world and any other. What manner of imbecile would dare to rise against him, anyway?

He mused at this, the prospect of boredom becoming apparent. Perhaps, in a few hundred years, he'd let one of the heroes… slip out of his clutches… maybe even two or three… let them get stronger, build of some hope of conquering him, and then utterly crush them for all those he had condemned to eternal suffering to view, the ultimate morale breaker!

"Great Lord Fate!" came a cry, sounding like a man being drowned again and again.

Fate's massive body turned to glare upon the kneeling forms of his eight servants. The one who had announced their presence was Despair, and his typically demonic grin that revealed rows of dagger-like teeth was replaced by a solemn (If a giant reptile could make such a face) expression that hinted the news he brought would not be pleasing.

"What is it! Why do you bother me? Did I not make my command implicitly clear?" he roared.

The great reptilian beast, named Despair, raised its head to meet Fate's. "There has been an intrusion in my realm." He said, his macabre voice quaking with fear. "The Nightmare Citadel is being infiltrated.

"Despair fails at such a simple task, my lord." chuckled Cruelty, the gigantic winged skeletal demon of agony and suffering of all innocents. "May I make personal recommendations of suitable reprisal for his failure?" he asked, his skeletal grin showing delight at the prospect of another, even a brother-in-arms, suffering.

Fate started to grow angry, his scythe's blade glowing a brilliant, bloody red, then, suddenly, to the bewilderment of the Dreamslayers (and relief on Despair's part), he smiled.

"A diversion, then." He said, smiling. "I stand corrected, my minions. There appears to be a challenger to my supreme authority. I suppose the insects must attempt to sting before being trodden on."

He looked at Despair, his grin showing. "Who is this fool? One of the heroes you let loose for amusement? Surely not the keyblade holder! I hear he still chases after his whore!" And at this, all but Despair shared a laugh.

"No, my master… it is a new one… a young man… an outsider."

The laugh quickly subsided. Fate, for the first time, appeared confused, out of his normal form of supreme and utter omnipotence.

"What do you mean by outsider!" he roared at the beast, who trembled.

"He… he comes from a realm, now gone into the fabric of time, that you did not bother to conquer." Despair explained.

Fate blinked. "The… _mundane_ realm! The mundane realm? The place where no magic lives! Where the enemy's son was born and died but nearly everyone was too stupid to realize it! Are you actually telling me some ignorant fool managed to cross impossible boundaries no non-mage can ever cross, and now is in your realm!" Fate snorted. "Your pathetic attempt at a joke nauseates me, Despair."

Despair groaned a sigh that sounded like all the death-wails of the dying in one nightmarish chorus. "I do not lie to the God of all, master. The fool is indeed from the mundane realm, but I believe he had help crossing…"

At this, Fate and the remainder of his servants turned their heads to Despair.

"What is more, master… is that this boy… this man-to-be… he bares on his arms and legs the Actraiser Armor!"

Fate's eyes closed in rage, and he suddenly exhaled a string of curses in a demonic tongue. The Actraiser Armor. He'd heard the legends, of course. The armor was said to appear only when something on the level of multirealm devastation was imminent.

Its purpose was that of what the inferiors would call a noble purpose. It gave the bearer the power necessary to destroy aberrations, things created not naturally, but by demonic magic. And, unfortunately, Odium, the pride of Fate's empire, fitted into this category of things.

"WHAT IS THE FOOL'S NAME THAT DARES DEFY ME!" he roared, grabbing Despair in his left hand, pressing his tyrannical, maddened face to glare the beast in the eye.

"La… Ladis, sir."

Fate abruptly dropped him.

"His name, you say, is Ladis." He said, his voice flat.

"Yes, oh master." Despair said, finding his voice at length.

Fate was aghast. In his village's old tongue, "ladis" was a short word for the answer to a prayer, but, more specifically, the answer of God to the prayers of thousands of innocents pleading for freedom from a catastrophic disaster. How then, did the mundane ones get such a name to call their child?

Sheer coincidence, he told himself. The mundane ones must be trying to spice up their dull lives by giving their offspring more vivid names, and somehow they had decided, in a rare stroke of true ingenuity, to give this one a name with meaning.

Fate turned to his minions, smiling malevolently. "This, my servants…" he said, trying to restore the idea he was omnipotent, "is an example I regret to say you may yet see again and again- the example of human arrogance."

"This boy has somehow obtained the very weapon that sunders Odium. I will not pretend to be so ignorant to the fact that he constitutes a threat to my empire. However, this threat, on a proportionate scale, is the threat of a bee to a Behemoth. If the bee is allowed to fly within the beast's mouth, it shall sting an unprotected area. However, if the behemoth is aware, it can have sport with it before crushing it utterly."

He smiled as he said these words, the black walls of his castle illuminated only by the red glow of his scythe, bathing his reverent followers in a bloody sheen.

"It seems chance has chosen this insect die in Despair's realm. Let it be so." He said, seating himself in his ivory throne once more. He held out his hand, and materialized a large spherical globe, in which the entirety of the Nightmare Citadel of Earth- The Reverse Spire- could be seen. He placed this sphere in between him and his servants, so that they could all have a good look at the farce about to unfold.

"I do hope he makes good use of that armor. A good diversion like this is so very hard to come by."

He smiled with demonic joy as he watched the form of a boy clear the last few steps that wound down into the area where the Nightmare Citadel was held...

The tunnel Ladis had entered, after making his way down an extremely long, spiraling flight of stone stairs, was lit, dimly, only by the glow of his weapon. Using it as a light source, Ladis could make out a crude brick path leading further down the tunnel. Without moving forward, he couldn't see any further.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Ladis moved forward cautiously, looking about for any hint on danger, natural or otherwise. There was none, and he kept moving forward.

After a few minutes of walking, Ladis could see a dim, very dim light emanating from what appeared to be the end of the tunnel, and Ladis hurried toward it, holding the soul blade ahead to illuminate his path. As he exited the tunnel, he saw what the source of the illumination was- large, gigantic skeletons, impaled on enormous, spire-like stalagmites, with huge bonfires crackling in the skulls and chest areas.

He was on a stone bridge, inside some sort of enormous hollowed-out dome within the earth, the bridge connecting to the top of what seemed to be a massive tower that seemed to extend far into the crust. Looking over the bridge, Ladis could not even see the bottom of the spherical area. Curious, he swung the soul blade, cutting off a portion of the stone wall from the tower, and flung it over the edge.

Waiting a few minutes, he could not even hear any indication it had hit bottom. The consequences for falling from where he stood seemed very obvious, and very lethal.

Turning, he eyed the massive tower that extended into the earth. The bridge connected to a doorway at the top, a massive, stone portal that was encased within a demonic looking gigantic serpentine clay head, and Ladis, for a moment, wondered if its stone fangs would crash down as he neared the door.

Moving forward, he tested the area before the door with his foot, then, seeing as it was relatively safe, opened the door.

Or, at least, tried to.

The stone doors refused to budge, and Ladis felt a bit angry at such a mundane obstruction so early in his quest. Taking the soul blade in both hands, making it larger and more powerful, he hacked at the door, the first slashes putting impressive gashes in the stonework, the last few tearing a hole in the door, which then crumbled apart.

It was about then Ladis realized that, while powerful, the energy blade which the gauntlets of the Actraiser Armor produced was not omnipotent. He had to put effort behind his swings for it to cut, and the blade felt more like a real sword, with enough weight and mass for a feel for it, now that he was actually using it. Nor was the blade's cut by any means absolute. He suspected it would encounter less resistance with stone as he grew stronger himself, as Garadien had said, but he wondered if the power he had now was enough to tackle whatever lay ahead…

Suddenly, Ladis sensed movement from behind the rubble of the doors. Black puddles were oozing over the rocks, forming three similarly sized pools of inky mass near him. These ooze puddles suddenly bubbled, rose, and began a hideous metamorphosis, changing into humanoid shapes about Ladis' height, with arms and legs, but where hands should be, there were instead short, curved, metallic blades, one on each arm. Their heads held dark, purple, evil eyes, and in their chest, a crystal containing what appeared to be swirling, dark red, grey, and violet mottled sludge, appeared.

Their gaze shifted to Ladis as their transformation completed, and their eyes narrowed. They slowly walked at first, testing their legs, then ran at Ladis.

Ladis, rather than turning and running, (which, at the time, seemed like a good idea) used the enhanced jumping power of the leg armor to boost himself up and over the swipes of the beasts, landing behind them.

As he spun around, Ladis noticed that these creatures seemed confused and uncertain after this evasive tactic. Taking this low intelligence as an opportunity to attack, Ladis charged, swinging the soul blade at the center of the group.

Hearing his footstep, two of the shapes clambered out of the way, while the one Ladis targeted glanced at it's comrades, then behind it.

As the blade descended on it, Ladis swore he saw a mixture of shock and fear in the creature's eyes as they expanded to twice their size as the creature realized it's doom.

The energy blade slashed across it's chest, through the crystal, almost severing it in two, had the beast not stumbled back in surprised. Even though it had no mouth, Ladis could heard a gurgling and dim cacophony of cries within it's body as the wound sizzled and hissed, giving off a black vapor and showing a deep, bloodless gouging of it's black flesh from the blow, the part of the crystal that was cut off dissolving into black vapor and dissipating.

The beast reeled back, it's eyes wild in pain, then, when it regained it's balance, it's eyes narrowed, glowing an ominous purple hue, and Ladis had no doubt that these creatures could feel both pain and rage.

The beast charged, it's bladed arms flailing madly, swinging at the air in front of it in a berserker dash.

Raising his arms in defense, Ladis spun to the side, but not fast enough as one of the blades slashed into the gauntlet, generating a shower of sparks. The beast howled, and drew away it's arm as if burnt.

Ladis inspected the left gauntlet, and saw it was not even scratched. That put one worry at ease- the armor, so far, could not be damaged.

_Now I just have to protect the rest of my body, _he thought with savage irony.

Ladis rushed again, slashing at the creature with a backhand slash, cutting off it's right arm. Not caring to suffer from an attack from it's left, he brought his right hand back again in a rising forehand slash, slicing the beast in two.

The separated halves quickly dissolved into black mist, and Ladis felt an odd prickling at the back of his neck…

Ignoring it, he turned to the remaining two shadowy creatures, who were rushing forward, bladed arms flailing.

Ladis met their charge by dashing forward and hacking at the closest one, receiving a few cuts on his back in retribution for the dash and slash technique he used. The shadow, however, was noticeably wounded by the attack, a smoking gash eroding at it's body from where Ladis had struck.

Ignoring the sting of the cuts on his back, Ladis spun, going for the third, slashing it across the chest with a backhand strike, then stabbing at it's crystal with the soul blade.

Wondering if the armor allowed for ambidextrous techniques, Ladis tried to form a second soul blade in his left hand. The result was a second, but slightly shorter, less brilliant blade, and his right decreased in size and brightness as well.

Ignoring this, he launched into a series of stabs and cuts, spins and slashes, effectively tearing the shadow to pieces that evaporated into the same, fading black mist. Not stopping, he used his last bit of momentum to dash at the third, and executed two simultaneous backhand slashes across the creature's chest, the hissing, smoking, bloodless black wounds being almost parallel to each other.

Ladis now switched back to a single blade in his right hand, bringing it down on the creatures head. Its eyes went dim as the blade slashed, stopping in the chest area, and the body dissolved into black mist.

Seeing as he was in no immediate danger, Ladis now felt the burning pain of the cuts he'd suffered. As they were on his back, he had no way to tell how severely he was injured, or even a way to mend the damage…

_Seems now would be a good time to teach you about using magic. _A voice, impish and mischievous, resounded in his head.

"Where are you!" Ladis said, spinning to find the source of the voice.

"_I'm where I was before. We're communicating through telepathy, one of my personal talents. Now, seems you taken a bit of damage, kid. Luckily for you, those blades weren't poisoned. _

_Yeah, great… _Ladis thought, wincing.

_Fortunately, you seemed to have absorbed enough white aether to form a simple spell. _Fortune's voice echoed. _Seems those things are gifted with regeneration, so it's lucky you killed them quick._

Ladis groaned silently. _Great, more fun to loom forward to._

Fortune's laugh could be heard in his mind. _Now, then, magic. You need a healing spell for occurrences like this. Focus all your thoughts on a single thing: Healing your body. You should be able to forge a healing spell from your memories._

Ladis, concentrating hard, searched his mind for a healing memory. His family wasn't much help, nor was school…

Words came to him, powerful words that seemed to be forcing their way from his stomach out to his mouth… he felt, again, the prickling on his neck intensify and then suddenly disperse, as he murmured potent arcane words.

"Shine Balm! CURE!" Ladis yelled, holding his hand outstretched.

As he did, he felt some sort of small amount of energy go out of him, not unlike exhaling. From out of nowhere, small white and blue sparks appeared, circling him and landing on his back and entering his body. Instantly, Ladis felt his wounds close and the pain disappear.

_That's the Cure spell. It's disinfectant and healing all in one, but it can't handle poisoning. So be careful. It can fix cuts and maybe some sprains, but it can only heal so much damage at a time. You'll have to recast it again if you're badly injured._

Ladis nodded. _Got it._

_Another thing is, you only have so much… oh, what is a word you'd understand? Fuel. You only have so much magical fuel to make these spells happen. We refer to this as "Mana". Every time you use a spell, you use up some mana. When you don't have enough mana left to use that spell, you can't cast it._

_Okay, so there's a limit. Yeah, I think I felt some energy go out when I used that spell. Is there a way to increase it?_

_As you get stronger and use magic more often, you'll increase your mana little by little. Resting for a while will also restore your mana._

Ladis nodded mentally, then headed into the citadel.

_So what do we know about this place, anyway? _Ladis asked mentally.

_Effectively, nothing. _Came Fortune's reply. _We have no maps, no clues, and no reservations. We can provide advice, but, as far as directions go, you're on your own._

Ladis now stood at a large hole, near the door where he'd unceremoniously cut through. Below, he saw a small room, though what was within lay out of sight.

Leaping down, using the power of the leg armor to slow his descent slightly, he landed, and a quick look around confirmed he was in no immediate danger.

The walls around him were lit by much smaller versions of the macabre torches he'd seen outside, smaller skeletons, slightly bigger than Ladis himself.

All along the wall were crude pictographs depicting a large, reptilian monster steadily prevailing over a boy who swung a…

Ladis blinked, and moved closer.

A Key?

_Yep, it's something called a keyblade. Crazy little thingamajig. Cut like a hot knife through butter against those… heartlacks or something or others, but did jack squat against Odiumspawn. _Fortune's voice rang.

_Odiumspawn?_

_Those beasts you just sliced up? Those were Odiumspawn. Made with all the piss and vinegar Fate had stored in him._

_Fate? Who's Fate?_

Even though he was nowhere near Fortune, Ladis could feel an incredulous gaze on him. _You're joking. You're not even aware who Fate… oh, I see, Garadien never told you… okay, then, long story short, he's a nasty little sonofabitch who sold his soul, made life in all the realms shitty, and gets off seeing other people suffer. _

Ladis sighed. _Well, then I'll just have to kill him too, won't I?_

_First things first. Realms need to be restored. Fate feeds off others being miserable. If you were to tackle him right now, you'd be annihilated. We need to weaken him and strengthen you._

With that, Ladis began looking for a door out of the room. A quick look around brought up an interesting problem: No door, no portal, no indication of an exit whatsoever existed in the room.

Ladis examined the walls by what light the skeleton torches provided, and saw that all the walls of the rectangular room were similar, the same depiction of the monster overcoming a boy with a key.

Ladis then saw, as the image came closer, that the crude image of a boy looked remarkably similar to the young man called "Sora" by the doomed girl…

Wait. The image moved closer?

Ladis backed up, and saw, to his horror, that the longer walls were steadily closing in on him. Dashing over to the hole he had dived through, he prepared to jump out... only to have a rock slab close over the area.

Ladis, in desperation, called forth the soul blade and leapt, slashing at the slab, but instead of even scratching the obstruction, he was instead flung back, slamming into the stone wall, the shock of some unknown energy still ringing in his arm.

Getting up slowly, he could see the walls still moving closer, inching every forward to crush him.

_Ladis! The walls are being reinforced by some sort of energy! Your blade can't cut them now! _Came Fortune's desperate cry, all traces of humor gone.

_Suggestions! _Ladis mentally screamed.

_There are generators for the power in there… they can't fuel that sort of thing from far away…_ Fortune stammered.

Ladis looked around, the walls getting every closer. There was nothing other than the walls and their pictures, except for maybe the…

Skeleton torches?

Ladis hastily slashed at one of the skeletal torches, quickly turning the macabre light source into a pile of calcium rubble. Although it was not extremely obvious, the walls had slowed their contracting, it seemed.

Hoping it was not a hallucination, Ladis dashed to the torches, slashing at them, the room growing dimmer with each destroyed torch, but the walls slowly grinding to a halt as his rampage continued. At length, after all of said torches were destroyed, the stone slab opened, and, as if in haste, the walls slid back, giving Ladis far more breathing room.

By the light provided by the hole above him, Ladis could see there was now a way out, but still no way forward. Still, the prospect of being crushed had faded, and now he had time again to think.

Or so he did before the shadows began to converge into several small blobs of darkness. They formed stubby legs, small, midget bodies without arms, and one long, bladed tail. Their heads had the same malevolent glowing eyes as the first Odiumspawn Ladis had encountered, but not the jewel in the chest or the height.

The first odium beast ran at him at a waddle, appearing almost comical were it not for the knifelike blade on it's tail. Dodged as it struck, Ladis swung his weapon at its head, striking a solid blow at its neck and beheading it, the body and tail dissolving into black mist.

The other four beasts hesitated, then rushed at Ladis en masse, tails swinging. Ladis, knowing meeting their charge would result in jury, retreated steps at a time, slashing and parrying, and after several swipes, the remaining four were reduced to two.

One foolishly lunged in an aerial attack at Ladis, it's eyes gleaming scarlet. It was rewarded with impalement on the Soul Blade, where it twitched, gave a short gurgle, and vaporized into black mist.

The last one jumped back, and wrapped it's tail around it's body, giving the appearance it no longer was ready to fight. But then, slowly, it began to spin in place, slowly accelerating to the point it was a blur, then unraveled it's tail, hurling itself in a spinning whirlwind of slashes at Ladis.

The attack would had been a very impressive maneuver had Ladis not demonstrated the ancient art of ducking out of the way, leaving the whirling mass of odium to soar harmlessly over his head, landing a few feet away, still spinning.

Slowly, it's movement slackened, and even though it had only eyes for facial features, Ladis could tell the attack left it disoriented. Wasting no time, Ladis hurled himself, soul blade at the ready, at the remaining odiumspawn. Just as it regained it's balance, it looked at Ladis, and it's amethyst eyes grew wide with fear…

…then flashed, abruptly dimming as the blade cut through its body, dissolving into black vapor.

Ladis stood, wiping some sweat from his head, feeling that tingle on his neck again.

He slapped at the back of his neck in irritation. "What keeps doing that?" he growled.

_That's aether entering your body. You absorbed some from the monsters you just offed. _Came Fortune's mental reply.

_Cool! So I can get a new spell!_

_No, you haven't absorbed enough black, white, or jikku aether for that yet._

_Then how'd I learn Cure from just three creatures!_

Fortune was silent for a few moments. _We're not entirely sure. We think you must have absorbed some residual aether from the armor when Garadien infused you with it. Otherwise… _

_Otherwise what?_ Ladis asked.

There was a long pause, and Ladis could hear his own heartbeat slowing down after the rush of battle. _Fortune…?_

_Nevermind, it was a crazy idea. That's one of my fault's; coming up with ridiculous ideas. Nothing worth mentioning right now. Now, then, the energy permeating that area should have weakened enough to reveal the portal._

Ladis looked around, holding the soul blade up for light. Suddenly, to his left, a portion of the wall crackled and flickered with electricity.

_That should be it, the portal. _Fortune spoke. _Just walk through it. It should be like going through an open door._

_I thought you said you knew nothing about this place. _Ladis thought, his curiosity growing.

_This is… no… was a common setup where I came from… _and, again, the mirth and joviality in Fortune's voice faded to a sadness wistfulness. _It's the same design as home… but, nevermind. Just walk through, and let's kill this damned thing._

Ladis eyed the crackling, sparking wall. It seemed more likely to electrocute him than give him safe passage, but, slowly, he put one hand towards the crackling section, bracing for a painful shock.

Then felt his hand hit empty space as it passed through the wall.

"Sonofa…" Ladis swore softly. Moving forward, he stepped through the sparking area of the wall, blinking as his face moved through solid stone.

He was in another room, a much larger one, with a series of bridges connected to the stone walls by large, rock cylinders. Looking down, Ladis could see, far below, that there was a pit of green, bubbling liquid, and the scent of acrid fumes wafted up from below.

_Ladis, I know this is pretty obvious, but if you fall off, well, there's no saving you. That stuff below is grade sigma acid!_

_What does "grade sigma" mean? _Ladis mentally asked out of morbid curiosity.

_If you were hanging about ten feet over the stuff, you'd need full body protection, or the fumes would burn you horribly. All that'd be left in a few minutes is a gooey skeleton and the gauntlets. But, hey, no pressure._

Ladis shivered at the thought. _Gee, thanks. That image reaaaaallly helps._ He said sarcastically, viewing the long jumps he'd need to make from bridge to bridge.

_Just take it slow, and don't do anything stupid._ Fortune advised.

Ladis shook his head. _I came here willingly, didn't I?_

There was a long pause. _Correction: Don't do anything stupid for non-heroic purposes. People cry if you die a hero. They laugh if you die an idiot._

Ladis surveyed the area he had to work in. The bridges had small gaps in them that the boots would easily allow him to cross. The pillars themselves looked sturdy enough. He smirked. If this was supposed to be a challenge, then…

He felt something shudder beneath his heels, and jumped forward, just as the section of bridge he was on fell apart, falling into the acid below.

"Oh, fuck." He hissed, as the section he'd stepped on began to shudder too.

_SHADDAP AND RUUUUUUUUNNN! _Screamed Fortune into his head.

Ignoring the temporary headache the command gave him, Ladis jumped from bridge piece to bridge piece, each one falling quicker than the last. Several times he nearly hesitated too long, almost plunging to a boiling death.

The last piece was in sight, but the platform with another, crackling section of that had to be a door (Ladis prayed he was not incorrect), was at least 30 feet away. However, Ladis was near a long length of wall that led to the corner with the portal…

_These boots can accelerate me for a while, right!_ He asked nervously.

_DO IT!_ Replied Fortune, reading his mind and understanding the psychotic, last ditch maneuver.

Ladis called forth the boots power, his reflexes in his legs and body doubling in speed, and, with a dashing start, leapt, and began to run along the wall, his boosted momentum keeping him from falling. However, Ladis could feel the momentum and enhanced reflexes staring to fade…

"Pleaseworkpleaseworkpleaseworkpleasework…" he chanted as he switched the Soul Blade to his left hand, stabbing it into the wall as his agility faded.

Swung upwards into the air and switched off the soul blade…

Kicked off the wall, hurtling himself at the platform…

And sprinted inside the next room as the last platform fell into the acid bath below.

"WHO DA MAN? I DA MAN! I DA MAN! I…" Ladis' chanting fell short as he was interrupted.

"_Are you finished yet, irritant?" _came a rasping, gurgling voice.

Ladis opened his eyes, and saw a humanoid odiumspawn, equipped with arms, legs, and a muscular body, onyx black armor over his lower and upper body, two small sickles held in his hands. The only thing he held similar to the other Odiumspawn was the black, tarlike body, the midnight purple, glaring eyes, and in his chest, on top of his breastplate, was a much large, diamond-shaped jewel with the same chaotic matter within Ladis had seen in the first three odiumspawn.

Ladis glared down his foe, drawing the Soul Blade in his right, and double gripping it to power it up. "So you can talk." He said in a growl.

Though the odiumspawn had no mouth, Ladis could swear it smiled. _"Fate has made us able to do many things, irritant. One of them is to proclaim his will without the need of a primitive human's mouth." _It extended its hand, and a longsword of blood red steel appeared in its grip.

"_Die proud, mortal. None have ever forced me to awaken for actual combat."_ It hissed, lunging at Ladis with a slash…

…and meeting only empty air.

"_What! Where did you… AAAAARRRGGH!" _it screamed, caught off guard by a backstab to its left shoulder. _"You cheap, lowlife, insignificant little piece of shAAAAAAAHHH!" _it roared, its curse cut off by another slash across it's chest.

"I was hired to save the worlds. No one said I had to be nice about it." Ladis said, not letting any honor get in the way of this fight.

"_Fine, irritant. I can play dirty too!"_ the odium beast roared, extending its left hand.

"_Earth Fist! STONE!" _it roared, its arm crackling with energy. Small stones appeared out of the air and merged swiftly to create a small boulder that hurled itself at Ladis.

Reacting out of pure instinct, Ladis put up his arms and activated the soul barrier, the stone missile shattering against the rippling wall. However, as Garadien had warned, it was not foolproof, and Ladis was hurled backwards, slammed against the earthen floor of the room.

The odiumspawn chuckled. _"Pitiful. Utterly pitiful. You can't block one measly attack."_ It taunted.

Ladis jumped to his feet. "Neither can you, apparently."

The odiumbeast chuckled, its longsword at the ready. _"True, irritant, you scored twice on me, but such minor injuries are not going to be the end of one such as me."_

Ladis extinguished the Soul Blade, holding his chin. "Wow, impressive! But tell me, before you kill me, how did you survive the twenty stab wounds I gave you afterward?"

The beast's left eye rose, and its guard slackened in confusion. _"What twenty stab wou... AAAAAAAHHHH!"_

Ladis, calling once more on the boots, charged forward, forming the two twin Soul Blades, rapidly alternating his stabs. After twenty lightning quick hits, he jumped away, as the odiumbeast fell forward, groaning, slowly dissolving into black mist.

"THOSE twenty stab wounds." Ladis said, feeling a surge of aether flow through him. But this was different, like he'd reached a goal… but he had so far to go… he couldn't of met the final room, unless… yes, the aether was telling him. He had enough power now to form an offensive spell, fueled by the raw destructive purposes the black aether allowed.

_Hey, Fortune! What's a good spell to learn? _He asked mentally.

He heard Fortune sigh. _Oh, right, I nearly forgot to tell you a really important rule about magic- elements._

_Elements?_

_Yes. There's Nine Basic elementals. Earth, Wind, Water, Thunder, Cold, Fire, Holy, Dark, and Poison. These are the basic elementals used in war magic, though they also provide some supportive power._

Ladis felt a mental image form in his head, no doubt a work of Fortune's. _Now, then, what you just saw was the first spell of Earth: Stone. It creates a small ball of magical stone out of nothing and hurls it at someone's noggin."_

Ladis blinked. _It creates stone out of… nothing?_

_Correction. Out of your mana. Yes, it is thermodynamically impossible. No, you won't understand it if I explain it to you. Yes, even if you could, it'd make your head hurt to the point you'd pass out._

_Right. Go on._

_Right-o. Now then, each of the six prime elements, Fire, Earth, Wind, Thunder, Water, and Cold have a "family" of offensive spells, three apiece._

Ladis blinked. _That's it?_

He could feel Fortune's grin. _Yeah, but they'll do you well. Now, take an element, say, wind, for example. The three spells of offensive value are Aero, Aera, and Aeroga._

_Why the odd names?_

_There's a reason to that. The lone name is the basic spell, the one new mages learn. The -a, -ra or –ara suffix is a magical term for "greater". The –ga, or –aga suffixes are terms for "master". Then there's the –ja category, which_

_What's the –ja category? _Ladis asked. He was suddenly rewarded with a comical vision of a cartoon wizard in hell, yelling "Blizzaja!", and an equally cartoonish devil, along with the once fiery background, being suddenly blasted by a apocalyptic blizzard and large icicle javelins.

_That's the essence of the –ja families. Nasty, nasty stuff. They were only used when there was simply no other way around utterly destroying an enemy. Hence, the –ja suffix means "no peace", or "the war is beyond the point where peace can be reached." You probably won't need them… I hope. _Fortune added, his mental tone slightly wavering.

_So that's it, then. Nine elements, each with 3 spells apiece, including the -jas?_

A gamebuzzer sounded in Ladis' head. _ANNNGKT! Wrong! I said the first SIX main elementals. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Now, on to getting a spell. You have Cure, a healing spell for all the mild injuries your likely to sustain on this little endeavor. You need something to attack with. _

_The general rule of elements in magic is that certain monsters have tolerances, weaknesses, immunity, and affinity with certain elements. For instance, an earth elemental monster, which, might I add, you're likely to encounter in this little funhouse, would absorb elemental earth spells, be immune to thunder, and would be weak to… you fill in the blank, kid._

Ladis went with the first thought that came into his head. _Wind?_

A loud cacophony of bicycle horns and applause rang in Ladis' head, and he made a mental note to smack Fortune for that when- and if- he got out of here.

_CORRECT! So, it's in your best interest to learn a spiffy spell of wind. Now, focus your mind and spirit on what makes you angry. Something or someone you would like to see hurt or destroyed. Don't tell me there's no one you know. Now, imagine that thing or person being torn apart by tornadoes, blown off a cliff by strong gusts, flung into a brick wall by a hurricane, any sort of nastiness associated with wind._

Ladis thought of his brother/tormentor, Terce, being thrown screaming into a brick wall by a tornado, and the spell came like it was already in his memory…

He stretched his hand out towards a skeleton torch on the wall, and spoke the words that came to him.

"Wind Cleaver! Aero!" he screamed, feeling once more his mana being drawn out into the spell, giving it life.

Streams of hurricane force air blasted from his hand, combining to a small, whirling vortex, blasting and shredding the skeleton torch to the point it fell apart at the seams. Ladis blinked, not quite believing what he had just seen.

_And that, my boy, is the reason most people never get to use the dark arts. Lots of people feel totally justified with blowing up someone who flicked them off. However, most of the guys you'll be dealing with will want you dead, so feel free to use your newfound power at your discretion. But remember, the stronger the spell, the more mana it uses. So be careful._

Ladis now looked over his surroundings. He was in a long, brick-walled hallway, the overhead, the walls, everything but the dirt floor made of brick. Skeleton Torches illuminated the hall, and Ladis could see that the hall was lined with doors made of iron, with ring handles, barred windows- the stuff of medieval prisons.

_Trust me, kid. Don't open those doors, no matter what. If they're what I think they are, opening them would mean bad shit. Feel free to look, but nix the opening._ Fortune warned.

Ladis wasn't sure he even wanted to view what was behind those doors.

Walking with the intent to pass them by altogether, he had no intention of stopping, until…

"Is someone there?" came a young man's voice.

"Please! Help us!" echoed a elderly woman's.

"No one can help us! No one! Get out while you still can!" came the plea of a female child.

"The pain, the pain! WHY WON"T HE KILL US AND BE DONE WITH IT?" Came a young woman's cry.

Ladis dashed over to where the child's voice had came, peered through the bars, and gasped at what he saw. The girl was dressed in tattered clothes, her body bloodied, her gaze sorrowful.

"Don't open the door! You'll get sucked in if you do!" the girl warned.

"How do I get you out of here!" yelled Ladis, his mind racing.

"You… can't. No one can. Go back where you came from! He'll hurt you too! I… Oh no!" cried the girl, looking at the ceiling above her.

Ladis looked up, and saw the ceiling had grown large, sharp stone spikes, and was rapidly descending.

As he heard the sickening crunch and muffled screams from all around, he fell backward, backpedaling away from the horror he had just seen.

A dark fluid now seeped from under the doors, into the dirt floor, and the smell of death, a new and horrible sensation, hit Ladis full force.

"Alldeadalldeadalldeadalldead" Ladis babbled, his mind reeling, stumbling over his own feet. This couldn't be happening, it had to be an illusion. He must've hit his head during the Klansman debacle, and was in a coma…

_Ladis! Get out of there now! It's an illusion! _

_A-an illusion? _Ladis had great difficulty focusing on the shortest bit of telepathy.

_Yes! The magic here is designed to drive you insane! And if you stay around much longer, it will! Run straight ahead, I'm detecting an exit there._

Ladis, forcing back his vomit and nausea, ran blindly towards where he faintly heard crackling and sparking of energy, signaling a portal. Suddenly, the portal's hissing and crackling halted, and Ladis, looking up, saw that it had stopped completely.

A faint gurgling attracted his attention, and, slowly turning around, he saw that the pools of… liquid were beginning to bubble.

Ladis' nausea faded, replaced by a sense of bewilderment. If all this was an illusion, then how did the blood get there, and why was it slowly starting to form…

"Aw, crap." Ladis growled, as the blood slowly turned black, oozing upward, forming humanoid shapes.

The blobs of black-red ooze slowly grew, shaped into human-like shapes, save for the utter ink-black exterior. Ladis noticed that these were bereft of the chest jewels, but instead, possessed blinking, gigantic eyes. Where their predecessors had long blades, they had shorter, cat-like claws. Their eyes gleamed scarlet, and, as they reached their final formation, they emitted low, hissing noises, even with their lack of mouths. Slowly, they stretched their limbs, as if having awoken from a long slumber…

Then, one by one, they noticed Ladis' presence. Their claws clenched and unclenched, and they began to lumber, slowly, adjusting to their legs and new sense of mobility, towards Ladis, their eyes filled with hatred.

Ladis decided it was time to try out a new tactic, rather than simply trading blow for blow with the odiumspawn. He raised his hands at the nearest odiumspawn, and focused his will on his magic…

"Wind Cleaver! Aero!" he yelled, calling on the destructive force of wind.

As before, he felt his mana ebb away, and streams of air became a scything vortex that slashed mercilessly at the odiumspawn, faded away after a few seconds, and left it a mass of cuts and slashes. The odiumspawn's flesh hissed and faded into the same black vapor as the wind slashed it, but, as the vortex subsided, it became apparent that it was still standing, if but barely.

The magical assault on it's body, however, was not particularly pleasing, as it lunged, it's claws swiping at Ladis as it hurled itself recklessly at it's target.

Ladis, gripping the soul blade with both hands, swung it in a roundhouse swing, ducking its slashes as he went into a roll, slicing down at the odiumspawn's abdomen as he went, cutting it in two.

One down, five to go.

The second lunged without hesitating, and clawed Ladis across the chest as he rose the blade for a down slash. Ignoring the burning pain that came with the wound, Ladis brought the weapon down, severing the beast in two.

The next two came slashing wildly, and Ladis met their charge with a backhand slash, meaning to take them both out at once. One fell to the tactic, but the other slashed his right shoulder and slammed a black foot into his side, slamming Ladis into a wall.

It chuckled. It chuckled at his pain.

Ladis had never before felt this sensation. This feeling of hate…

The desire to utterly EVISCERATE it.

He turned towards it, saw its red eyes twitch slightly.

No death. Not enough. Too easy.

DESTROYDESTROYDESTROYKILLKILLKILLKILLKILL

_Ladis._

KILLKILLKILL

_LADIS!_

Calling? Who's Calling?

_LADIS WAKE UP!_

Ladis opened his eyes. The three other odiumspawn were nowhere to be seen.

_Ladis, where the hell did you learn that sort of schiznit! I mean, Garadien said you had issues, but daaaaaaammn… _came Fortune's comical, if a bit nervous, telepathic voice.

Ladis saw that they were splotches of red-black muck on the wall. Remains of the last three. He had heard the odiumspawn laugh at his pain, and then…

Laughing, then…

Then…

Rage. He had felt rage. Indignation. He felt hatred beyond words for the odiumspawn who had injured him.

_Nonexistent realm to Ladis, come in Ladis…_ came Fortune's mental jab.

_Yeah, I'm here. What the hell happened just now? _Ladis asked as he used a Cure spell to mend his wounds.

_What do you mean, "what just happened"! _came Fortune's exasperated reply.

_I meant what happened after the odiumspawn hit me into the wall._

There was a long silence.

_You really don't remember? _Came a timid response.

_No._

_You're not joking, are you? Because this isn't the sort of crap to joke…_

_I'm not joking._

An even longer pause.

_You screamed, and then… well… my link with you went fuzzy, but as far as I can tell, you released a lot of raw magical energy through the soul blade. Garadien says it's your emotions resonating with the weapon, getting used to what you have… or it's quite possible you're just going insane._

Ladis sighed. Getting a straight answer out of Fortune on this would be pointless.

His t-shirt was torn, and Ladis realized now he was feeling extremely tired. He had healed his wounds, but not having gotten any sleep last night after the incident with his family, he was nigh dead tired. But it wasn't like he could just relax in this place… much less take a quick doze.

_Have to keep moving. _He told himself. _Have to… or they'll get me…_

He moved, a bit sluggishly, through the portal, the prospect of just how many thermodynamic laws were being broken during this entire debacle a mere afterthought.

He was now in a circular room, lit by the same damn skeleton torches…

His left leg was slumping at the knee from exhaustion. He could barely keep his eyes open.

_Need sleep. _He thought. _But sleep means death. No sleep means death. No sleep, die, sleep, die… fuck._

He noticed, out of the corner of his eye, a floating sphere of soft, gentle, white light.

_Fortune, any idea what the heck that is?_

_No, not really. _Came the reply. _It's not one of Fate's doings…_

It seemed so gentle, so pure…

He reached his hand out towards it…

_Ladis! What are you…!_

"Rest, hopebearer. Shut your eyes and let the slumber of a day fall upon you." Came a female voice, so pure, so… innocent… it had to be an angel…

_I died, and an angel came to take me to heaven. _Ladis thought. _Fortune… Garadien… Ansem… I'm sorry… need to rest…_

He heard no response as a soft light enveloped him, like a tender embrace…

"You're hurting." Came the voice.

"I'm fine…" Ladis replied, drunk with tiredness.

"Your soul. It's hurting." The voice said, worry seeping in.

"I'll be fine." Ladis assured the voice. "I just need to rest a little…"

"I can give you rest… please… stay with me a while… It's been a long time since I've had any mortal company…" the voice said, coming closer.

"What's your name?" came the female's voice.

"Ladis."

There was a pause. "La-dis?" the voice called, as if it was unsure of what he had said.

"I know it's a funny name. My parents gave it to me… and they didn't care for me much."

He could make out a face against the soft light… an angelic face, with… lavender hair…? Huh… angels must have odd tastes in style.

Her face bore a sad, understanding smile, she was, as far as Ladis could tell, about his age, eighteen, and a beautiful young woman garbed in a robe of what seemed to be… light woven into fabric.

"I know the feeling. My parents spent all their attention on my brother." She said, sighing.

"Funny… mine gave me a lot of attention… just never any good attention…" Ladis said, yawning…

"I never caught your name…" he said, as he said, as he felt his body float upward, his eyes closing slowly…

"My name?" The girl sounded surprised. "You… want to know… _my _name?" she said, slowly.

"Sorry…" Ladis said quickly… "I didn't mean…"

"No! No, I was just… well, back where I was, I wasn't really well liked…"

"Neither was I."

He could hear her soft giggle, a beautiful one. "It's Faith. My name is Faith…"

Faith?

A beautiful name for a beautiful girl…

And Ladis, enveloped in light, fell into the deepest slumber of his life, unaware he was levitating four feet in the air, reclining on nothing.

Faith stepped forward, her hands at her front.

He was handsome, as she was told.

But then, was her Lord ever to lie? Was he even capable?

He promised her, even as she watched from this place as her brother tore countless lives apart, that a hero would come. A hero who would know her pain.

Even now, the promise was being fulfilled.

She allowed herself to recline, to be lifted up, and, for the first time in her entire life since her tenth birthday, fell asleep without crying, her floating form only a few inches away from Ladis'.

At peace.

_For the idle man, there are a thousand devils for his torment,_

_For the diligent, there is but one,_

_But woe be unto the man who does good without want of reward,_

_For the masses of hell itself shall toil for such a man's misery._

Proverb of the SoulBlazer

"WHERE IS HE!" bellowed Fate, as the mortal boy who had single-handedly slew several of his Watcher Odiumspawn in one fell swoop, vanished in a flash of light.

"My… my lord… I do not know…" Came Despair's moaning reply. "I have no indication he is even in that realm anymore!"

Fate glared at his creation. "You put no such device in the Citadel? No portals to aid your journeys to and fro!" he growled.

"No, my lord, as you know in your knowledge, I am bound to thee. You need only speak and I appear. You need only dismiss and I go." came the groan.

Fate waved his hands, and large spheres of odium came to him in multitudes, each about the size of a cannonball.

Then they opened, revealing disturbingly lifelike eyes, the pupils glancing all as one at Fate.

"Go, all of you, my sentinels, unto all realms I have under my control, and seek out this menace!"

At once, without any flash or smoke, the eyes disappeared, as if they'd never been there at all.

The search, with their sole purpose being to scan an entire realm for beings, should take only a few seconds…

But seconds became minutes, minutes Fate did not care to spend.

"WELL!" he bellowed.

At once, the orbs reappeared.

"_My lord, he is not here nor there, nor anywhere."_

"_Low and high we sought the thorn in your side."_

"_Nowhere he can be seen."_

"_Perhaps he flees?"_

"_Perhaps he died?"_

"_Perhaps he has a power solely meant for not being found?"_

There was a collective gasp as all the eyes, the Dreamslayers, and Fate's raging, demonic gaze swept over to the trembling Sentinel Odiumspawn who spoke such a thing.

Fate lifted his hand, and prepared to, molecule by molecule, rip the offender apart, calling forth the demonic arcane forces needed for such a brutal death, when, suddenly, to the amazement (and disappointment in Cruelty's case) of all present, he stopped, his eyes blank.

"There was only one who would dare to do such a thing… to give respite to this infection within my own territory…"

The trembling odiumspawn opened its eye, the prospect of such an impossibility outweighing the fear of death.

"But Lord, you are beyond the god of old. Who dares stand in thy way, lest he be swept aside by thine wrath?"

The odiumspawn screamed as a wave of reddish energy tore it into dust. Cruelty stifled a chuckle, but the rest, even Judgment, quickly moved away from the spot where the offender had been.

"Let that be a lesson to you all to question me." He warned, his hand still crackling with evil energy.

"But a question shall never die once it has been spoken. I am thus bound to answer. However, the questioner has perished in pursuit of knowledge, for true knowledge is as nectar to me, and I will not share it without price."

"But the price has been paid, and so I shall divulge this hindering which I did not think to guard against."

All eyes were on Fate as he spoke. "T'was a time before the worthy Fate became a god, and the mundanes ruled."

"And the god of old was foolish, not guiding us to true power." Came the chanted reply.

Fate smiled at the obedient reply. "Yes… In that time, I had an… annoyance. A sister. Rebellious. Faithful to the old god. An inferior citizen of inferior life."

"I tried to kill her at my ascension, but for reasons unknown, the old god not doubt has sided with her in a desperate attempt to stoke the dying fire of this futile and utterly worthless crusade against my empire."

Fate chuckled. "Indeed, the old god grows desperate."

He allowed the laughter to spread a little among his minions.

"But, retaliation is necessary for any sort of damage this menace inflicts…

If, indeed, he does destroy the Demon Heart, then, Despair, the responsibility of his death falls to you alone."

The beast bowed best it could. "If it is necessary, I shall do it. Still, he has the rest of the citadel to conquer… and it shall be the killing blow to the hope of the people here when his broken body is exhumed from the depths of your first temple…"

Fate smiled. This diversion would prove most profitable.

Still…

The light bothered him.

It bothered him severely.

Looking at the sphere that surveyed the entirety of the worlds he'd conquered, seeing that imperfection… _Ladis…_

It reminded him he was fallible.

He dismissed the sphere, bid his subjects leave with but a thought.

He would not look upon the sphere again for entertainment. It reminded him of what so many of the mundane world did for amusement.

He was in the darkest halls of his castle, where no illumination existed.

But the light was still burning in his mind.

Burning. Like an injury from a Fira spell gone wrong.

And the darker the room, the brighter it burned.

The mage had warned him of such occurrences. Warned him the light must be extinguished.

Otherwise the burning never stops.

He calmed himself with the thought that no mortal could ever hope to survive in a nightmare citadel. No mortal, whatsoever. No matter what armament. No matter what magic. There was simply no way a mortal, particularly from the mundane realm, could survive.

But, what if a mortal had a God on his side?

What if this was the God's way of mocking him, sending something so weak, giving him just enough power to accomplish the task?

That answer kept him pacing for a long time.

Ladis awoke.

He felt… rejuvenated. His body no longer felt sleepy or exhausted. It was like…

A recharge. A reviving.

He surveyed now his surroundings…

Wait…

How'd he get back into the hallway? Hadn't he…

He whirled around, and, sure enough, the floating orb of light still remained, as before.

_LADIS! _Screamed Fortune's panicked voice, the psychic force knocking Ladis to his knees.

_GEEZ! Don't do that! Why are you yelling?_

_Oh, I dunno… oh wait… yeah, it's coming to me… I think it was YOU DISAPPEARING WITHOUT A TRACE INTO THAT BALL!_ Screamed Fortune.

_Relax, I'm fine… even better, now._

_Better? _Came a more calm, more collected response.

_As in like I've spent an entire day sleeping._

_A day? You were in there for five seconds, tops!_

Ladis shrugged. Somehow, with all of this happening around him, he wasn't surprised.

_Whatever. Anyway, there's a girl in there… her name's Faith._

_Faith. There's a girl in the ball of light named Faith. _Came Fortune's voice, slow and deliberate, as if talking to someone on medication.

_Yes. _

Ladis expected Fortune to ask something criticizing, like if he had taken drugs or hit his head, but instead, he got a much different response, urgent, probing.

_What color was her hair?_

_Uh… Purple._

_Lavender?_

_Yeaaaaah… you know her?_

_Yes. Big man said you'd have Faith's support. I thought he meant you'd just be religious, but I guess he meant it literally._

_She's faith incarnate?_

_No, slappo, it's her name. The one thing her traitor parents did good for her._

_Traitors?_

_It's complicated. There was this ceremony called the "Anointing" in her village, made a person one of the community, otherwise they were an outcast. You had to have it done before you hit ten. When she was four, she had a brother, and all the attention shifted to him. _Ladis could hear Fortune sighed a ragged breath. _She never was anointed, and by the time her parents realized what they'd done, it was too late. She lived for eight years as an outcast._

_Ouch. Who was her brother?_

There was a long pause.

_You don't want to know._

_I can handle it._

_You swear, by the God who made you, you will not despise her for what I tell you._

_I swear. My brother wasn't so hot, either._

_Her brother's worse._

_I find that hard to believe._

_Even if I told you her brother was Fate?_

Ladis reeled back. While it fit with what the girl, Faith, had told him, it still was a shock.

_Fate! Fate's her brother?_

_More like a tormentor/personal demon, _came Fortune's reply.

_Ouch. Sounds like she had a rough life._

"_Rough"? Yeah, rough. Rough isn't haven't trash thrown at you just because someone forgot to have holy water poured on your head. Rough isn't being forbidden to eat with your family because of what they did. That's called Fucksville, population: Faith._

Ladis shook his head as he surveyed his surroundings. _She's very beautiful. Very kind, very gentle, too._

_Keep it in your pants, kid. _Came Fortune's taunt, now back in his usual jester's tone. _First things first. Fate needs to be dethroned. Realms need to be restored. My main source of entertainment these past few millennia has been heckling Garadien about his fashion sense and learning card tricks._

Ladis now walked about the circular hallway he had stumbled into. More skeletal torches. More depictions of the battle between the reptile-beast and the key-wielding boy.

_Screw Garadien's fashion… this guy's place is just plain creepy._

After circling the hall once, Ladis found five other crackling portals other than the one he'd emerged from. The middle portal, however, seemed different… tainted.

He tried going through it, and was rewarded with an ominous flash of dark energy that, had he not jumped aside, would have lanced through his heart.

_Ladis, that door's being blocked by negative energy. You need to find the source of it and cut it off to proceed._ came Fortune's mental voice.

Ladis, after a quick and random decision, entered the farthest door on the left.

He'd expected more horrifying images, more tormenting nightmares. At the very least, a guardian odiumspawn.

Instead, Ladis found, inside the square, stone room, two normal torches, and a wooden door at the end.

"What the…?" he said, a bit shocked.

_Huh. Now that's something you don't see everyday. A normal door in Crazyville._

_Should I? _Ladis asked, reaching for the doorknob.

_I don't think we have other options. _Responded Fortune. _Just be extremely careful in there. It's going to be major sucksville for us if you do something stupid, like, say, die._

Ladis tapped the doorknob with the back of his hand, checking for traps, heat, or other unpleasantness. The last two doors of this type had given him an entirely new definition of "unreal", and thus, the Soulblazer exercised a bit more caution than normal.

Opening it with a jerk, the Soul Blade at the ready, Ladis found not odiumspawn, not another deathtrap, but a statue of a warrior, holding a greatsword, blade pointed down.

He was dressed in armor, with a metal circlet around his head, and his face was downcast, his eyes closed, as if the statue knew that all was not well outside the citadel.

Then the eyes opened.

Ladis nearly jumped out of his skin, but a voice resonating in his head calmed him.

_Who is this, he who bears the end of our suffering?_

"I'm… Ladis."

_Ladis. The answer of God to the tortured masses' cries._

Ladis felt the stone eyes watch his every move. The statue was so detailed, so life like, he expected it to move at any moment.

_This world, and many others… countless others… are in torment, their lives made unreal by Fate._

"Tell me about it." Ladis said, recalling the ghastly images he witnessed overground.

_Long ago, the worlds were one. Heroes banded together to fight the evils. But now the evils have banded together to fight them, under the demonic banner of Fate._

"From what Garadien told me, I'm supposed to stop it."

_The promise was not specific in who or what would stop the Eternal Nightmare, but it was a promise nonetheless, and I am grateful God allows me now to see his promise manifest._

Ladis scratched his head. "I've still got a long way to go." He said, humbly.

_Such is the reason I am here in this den of sorrow. I, and two others who defied the darkness before, shall lend you our strength to fight Fate's evil._

Ladis was puzzled, as from what he'd heard from Garadien and Fortune, he was on his own in this battle. "How?"

_We shall lend you the power we held in life… the powers of the former soulblazers._

As the statue finished his sentence, Ladis felt his arms and legs begin to tingle where the soulblazer armor was, feeling a new, faint power course through his arms.

_I am Blazer, the first bearer of the light. Unto you I give the power of awareness, the gift to sense ill will in flesh and stone, bone and metal. Precognition… Awaken._

Ladis felt his mind go berserk, his senses overload, and nearly blacked out from the intensity of the energy coursing through him.

Then, all was calm. He felt… more alert… more aware, like he had gained a more deeper understanding of what was going on around him. Like he had gained an extra sense, a sort of radar, even…

He looked up, after his mind had cleared, to thank the statue/soulblazer/whatever the hell he called himself…

And saw a pile of dust.

The statue has silently and swiftly disintegrated after the power had been bestowed.

_Ladis? What's going on? You went awol mentally for a while._

_I dunno… I met this statue named Blazer… he said something about helping me…_

_Hold on. _Interrupted Fortune. _Blazer? He said his name was Blazer?_

_Yep._

_What did the statue look like? _Came the excited response.

_Uh… a guy with a greatsword, a circlet, armor…_

_Yep, that's him, no mistake. Blazer is the first SoulBlazer, hence, the title was named after him._

_What's he doing here?_

_He isn't doing anything. What you saw was a sort of spiritual imprint, his last prayer to God before Odium consumed his world and flung him into the Neverafter. Apparently, that prayer was to make you more aware. _

_If I…_

_Yes, if you defeat the Dreamslayer responsible for his disappearance, he will come back._ Assured Fortune. _That's Fate's weakness with Odium: He can use it to trap people in torment until doomsday, but he can't kill them permanently with it._

_That's not exactly a positive, Fortune. _Amended Ladis. _I'd take death over letting him have his fun with me after what I've seen._

_True, that. But we've got a world to save. Chop, chop, and stab too, kiddo._

Ladis exited the room, heading back into the circular room, making a quick scan for enemies.

There were no odiumspawn in the room, nor any immediate perils, and yet…

Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

Something in the back of Ladis' brain prickled, like a small tingle of electricity…

And the young SoulBlazer leapt aside just before a gigantic axe crashed down where he had been a moment ago.

Looking at the wielder of the axe, he saw it was a much larger, much more muscular version of the blade-armed odiumspawn he had dealt with earlier, except this one had, instead of simple blades, large axeheads on the ends of its arms. It stood easily 8 feet tall, its cruel, vermillion eyes glaring down at Ladis.

It raised the axe-arms for another strike…

…and was rewarded for exposing its chest with a downward slash followed by two swift kicks to its legs that sent it sprawling to the ground with a loud crash. However, it quickly rose with a kick flip, and charged, its axe-arms slashing wildly.

Ladis leapt into the air, using the boots to boost his height to the point where he was midway between the floor and the ten-foot ceiling. Holding his hands downward, he invoked the Aero magic again.

"Wind Cleaver! AERO!"

The small tornado ripped at the behemoth odiumspawn, but only served to give it a few slashes, along with infuriating it beyond rational thought. (Assuming, thought Ladis, it _could _think in the first place.)

Landing, Ladis narrowly avoided being split in two as the raging odiumspawn began to slash wildly, its attacks landing on either wall or thin air as Ladis decided to back off from the madness of its assault.

After a few seconds, the Odiumspawn noticed it wasn't hitting Ladis at all, and rushed madly at him, a faint gurgling audible from what Ladis could only discern as its head.

Ladis simply raised his hands…

"WIND CLEAVER! AERO!" he roared, evoking the black magic once more.

The Odiumspawn, not to be caught off guard twice, raised its massive blades to block the spell, the large axe-heads being knocked aside in response to the blast of slicing winds.

That was all the time Ladis needed.

The moment the spell struck the blades, Ladis charged, accelerating with the boots' power, readying the soul blade. Knocked off balance from blocking the spell, the Odiumspawn had no time to react…

And consequently was split in two as Ladis charged past, swinging the soul blade with both hands in a diagonal slash at the giant's abdomen.

Ladis spun, facing the odiumspawn's back, ready to attack again if it turned around. It remained motionless, the searing slash from the soul blade beginning to hiss and emit black mist.

It gurgled, the sound of an elderly man being drowned coming from within it's black structure.

Then its top half fell off, dissolving into black smoke. The bottom half toppled, dissolving as well.

And the prickling on Ladis' neck came and went again. This time it felt like small lightning bolts were shooting up his spine.

It was creepy. But he knew it was power. Power he could use.

Power he would need to use.

_Ladis? Feel free to move sometime this millennia… you know, you aren't required to stand still every time you kill a baddie… _came Fortune's taunt, urging him along.

Ladis began to fire off a retort to Fortune mentally, but held it. He was right… he did need to keep moving.

The next door, from the right of the door Ladis had previously entered, had the same crackling and hissing of electricity indicated it was ready for entry.

Ladis willed away the instincts that prevented him from walking into solid objects once again, and stepped through the stone wall.

As he stepped through (blinking involuntarily as his face passed through the crackling stone portal), he saw now he was in a smaller room, where, in front of him, was a large square pit before him, with stone platforms sticking out of a field of sand.

It would have been like a large-scale Japanese rock garden had the illumination source of the room been more of those infernal skeletal torches.

Ladis saw, looking at the odd scene before him. The rocks themselves looked sturdy enough, but… there was something…

Wrong.

The scene… was lying… but that was crazy. How could inanimate scenery lie?

Simple. It was made to look relatively harmless. There was something there that made it not harmless. It was lying.

To test his theory, Ladis slashed at the stone floor, cutting a chunk of stone big enough for him to throw, a handful of rock. He casually tossed it underhand into the sand.

As soon as it landed, it began to sink, as the sand seemed to part from underneath it, the hole growing wider and wider rapidly, as the sand fell at an alarming rate to make it larger, more difficult for an intruder to escape. At last, all the sand had fallen into a large pit, like it had been… suspended over it, and Ladis could see what awaited at the bottom.

Spikes. Large, sharp, metallic spikes. The stones sticking out of the sand were, actually, large stone pillars jutting up from the pit,

As he was wondering if a cure spell could help him against such dire wounds, watching safely from the stone floor entrance, the sand suddenly rose back up to its normal position, creating the same layer that prevented Ladis from seeing the it, reshaping as if nothing had happened. The rock was nowhere to be seen, assumingly at the bottom of the pit.

Ladis now looked at the path the stones made, and saw that they led to a crackling section of stone wall on the other side, which had to be a portal…

_Yo, Fortune, are those pillars sturdy?_

_Beats me. You're the first one in here, remember?_

Ladis shrugged. Fortune was right, there was no point in asking someone who'd never seen the inside. Taking a short breath, he leapt to the first pillar…

Nothing. The pillar didn't collapse, no arrows shot out of the walls, no odiumspawn came, nothing.

The next pillar. Nothing.

Neither with the third. Or the fourth. The fifth was the same.

After the fifth, Ladis clear the last section of the spike pit, and passed through the crackling wall, hesitating as a large spark popped at him harmlessly.

_This is gonna take some getting used to, _he thought as he closed his eyes and passed through the wall. Now he stood in a large, stone room, lit again by those skeletal torches, where, in the center, on a marble, circular pedestal covered in runes, was a large, dark violet crystal sphere, at least ten feet in diameter, floating over the pedestal, hovering in midair.

Even from a distance Ladis could feel demonic energy emanating from the orb. It seemed (and this felt slightly ridiculous) that the crystal was a manifestation of hopelessness itself, the id of all impeding thought.

Ladis grinned and lit up the Soul Blade. In every teenager's heart, there is always at least some small portion of their soul that shakes with glee at the idea of destroying something so intricate and precise, just to piss someone off.

And Ladis just happened to be fortunate enough to have justification for this act of vandalism. If it didn't help open the center door, then at least he could get some stationary practice in with his new weapon…

Taking it in both hands, increasing the energy blade's length, Ladis charged, his face twisting into a homicidal grin.

"ITTTTT'S SMASHY TIME!" he yelled, leaping into a jumping slash…

Ladis' world suddenly stopped, as if someone had hit "Pause". He had an out-of-body vision of his body being impaled on a spike of dark energy as he descended in an arcing slash.

Then, as quickly as it came, the vision ended, Ladis back in his body…

"AHHHHHFUCK!" he screamed as he twisted out of the way of the dark blast that would have lanced him in midair, landing in a crouched position.

"_Smashy time? Do you mortals bother to even think about the nonsense you spew?" _came a voice. Ladis noticed it was coming from the direction the orb was.

"Let's skip the small talk, eh?" Ladis muttered, as he drew on the boots power to airdash (Think MegaMan X2) at the orb…

…Shooting upward at the last moment to avoid a dark wave of negative energy that vaporized a section of wall, and would have taken Ladis with it had he not acted so fast…

"_Hasty to die, are we? That can be arranged…GAH!" _

The orb's ethereal taunt was cut off with a demonic rasping and wheezing as Ladis fell in a slash, landing a solid blow on the orb. While it didn't cut through, it left a very deep gash, crystal shards flying and dissipating into black dust.

"_That was not a wise move, human! Earth Fist! STONE!" _The orb screamed, as it sent a magically formed boulder crashing into Ladis' chest, causing him to stagger and spit blood as he and the boulder crashed to the ground.

Mercifully, the stone rolled off him, allowing him to see, as his vision cleared from the pain, that the orb had now risen into the air, moving toward him…

A prickling at the back of his mind was all the warning Ladis had before another dark javelin lanced him, and he barely rolled out of the way of the blast…

…and was rewarded with pain like he'd never felt as he realized he'd had several ribs broken.

Another dark lance shot out at him, and, gathering himself to his feet, he tumbled away, but not before the lance grazed his left side, drawing blood.

Ladis nearly screamed from the pain as his flesh was removed from existence.

"Sh…Shine Balm! Cure!" he gasped, hoping the healing magic would be sufficient to heal some of his injuries. But as the healing lights flowed into his body and into his wound, the sphere shot out another lance, aimed straight at Ladis' head.

Ladis, on sheer instinct, swatted at the bolt, and sent it harmlessly into a stone wall, where it vaporized a small chunk of stone. The force, however, knocked the blade of light from his hand, which disappeared. Apparently, letting go of the blade extinguished it as well as mentally willing it away.

Ladis noticed only one rib was now broken, and the wound on his left side wasn't bleeding as bad. Still, it hurt like hell.

He was about to invoke the cure spell again, when he noticed the Orb charging directly at him.

Ladis' face twisted into a hateful scowl as he shifted into an attacking stance.

_Enough running away._

As the orb neared, he leapt over it, slashing down with the Soul Blade. He was rewarded with the shock of impact coursing up his right arm, and a psychic howl of pain from the orb.

As he landed, he invoked Cure again, and this time, his injuries were completely healed, his wounds gone like he had never been hurt.

Again, the stinging pricks in the back of his mind came, hinting at impending danger…

Calling on the boots' power, he leapt into a back-flip, just barely avoiding being smashed by the sphere trajectory, and the orb smashed into the wall, causing the room to shake violently.

"You need to work on your aim, pal." Ladis taunted, crossing his arms.

"_And you, mortal, need to work on dying with some dignity!" _the sphere roared as it charged at Ladis again…

…and seemed slightly unnerved when Ladis, screaming a battle cry, charged head on at it, the soul blade burning bright in his outstretched right arm.

The sphere, however, ignored this show of bravado, and kept charging at full speed…

…failing to notice Ladis gave one small jump right before they collided.

Ladis spun into a barrel roll, stabbing with his right hand, flipping, gouging out a large hunk of the sphere's crystal body, stabbing down with the soul blade transferred to his left, gouging again, and repeating the grim spin, as he rolled over the demonic crystalline orb, scoring over all five well placed hits, and fell off the sphere, landing in a crouched position.

The sphere gave one last psychic howl as it crashed into the opposite wall, shattering into millions of fragments, which quickly evaporated into black gas.

_Fortune, how's that barrier looking?_

_Weaker, but still strong enough to block any attempt to break through._

Ladis turned to leave, when he noticed a small, glowing ball of light hovering where the Crystal Orb had shattered.

_Fortune, is that another portal to Faith?_

Fortune took a while to answer. _No, no… this… this is one of their prayers…_

Ladis noticed that Fortune's normally giddy tone turned sorrowful. _Who's prayers?_

_The prayers of those Fate enslaved, but kept their faith. Manifestations of hope they hadn't lost yet._

_Hadn't…?_

_No one can endure Fate's tortures without losing their minds… these are the last wishes of the faithful before they… lost their hope._

Reaching out, Ladis touched the floating ball of light…

­­_"Please… let it end… help us God… my children… my poor children don't deserve this…"_

…and felt a weight in his hand.

Looking at it, it appeared to be a small flask of pale green liquid.

"…..eh?" Ladis muttered, raising an eyebrow.

_Oh, that'd be a Potion. The healing kind. This seems to be the minor injuries kind that will heal a mildly serious injury, but won't save you from death._ Came Fortune's telepathic call.

_Great, but what do I keep it in? _Ladis replied. He hadn't thought to take his backpack with him, and his jeans' pockets weren't large enough to hold the flask…

_Oh, yeah, that's another little trick of the armor. It'll hold stuff like that for you. Due to a whole lot of factors, only 30 different types of items can be held at a time, and only 10 of any item._

…

_Hey, we just gave the armor. The wacko responsible for forging it went bonkers long, long ago._

_Right, so how do I store it?_

_Envision a vault, or something like a safe, and focus on storing it in that safe. To retrieve it, focus on taking it out._

The process took little effort, the merest thought on the details Fortune described was sufficient to make the item disappear, and somehow, Ladis knew it had been stored safely.

Exiting the room, Ladis saw the same set up of pillars, with the façade of a sand floor. Now that he knew what he was facing, the challenge of the spikes below seemed nowhere near as daunting as before…

…Then, as if to take affront for his relaxed attitude, three winged masses of odium, about the size of an adult dog, _bamfed _into existence, hovering over the pillars. These actually had mouths, and the sharp teeth that protruded from them made no illusion of coming away with minor injuries if one was bitten. The three beasts spotted Ladis, and, with howls resembling those of dying wolves, charged.

Ladis, as he drew the Soul Blade, found himself a bit amused at his first thoughts on the demonic apparitions: he'd momentarily wondered if he'd get in trouble with the S.P.C.A for having to fight them…

One hasty, nigh-effortless fight later, (The Fangwings, Ladis had called them, ceased to be a problem once their wings were removed.) Ladis exited into the circular hall again. The door in the middle still had the infernal aura about it, but it seemed a bit weaker.

Taking the far right portal (again, he realized that walking through walls was something he REALLY needed to get used to.), he entered a larger room, this time, a lone figure in a grey robe sat at a crude wooden desk, sorting various coins of shapes and size.

Ladis' eyes widened as he saw, that, behind the man, lay several hundred bags, from which spilled golden coins, valuable gemstones, and ancient-looking scrolls and tomes. He wasn't by any means a master of determining values of artifacts, but still, the sum of the baubles' worth had to be extremely high.

The man raised his head, revealing a pale, grinning face, with eyes that glowed a foreboding yellow. "Go ahead. Try and take it. They'll rip you apart in three seconds, and even if you got some out, there's nowhere to spend any."

Ladis jerked to attention. "No, I didn't…"

"Yes, you did. But you won't. You're not the kind of asshole who makes a livelihood out of cheating others."

Ladis blinked. "Uh…yeah… uh… what are you doing here?"

The man smiled, then his grin faded, replaced by puzzlement. "What am I doing here? What, pray tell, are YOU doing here? And how, in the name of the mighty God of heaven and earth, did you avoid those horrific creatures?" he asked, hope ringing in his voice.

"I'm Ladis, sent by Garadien to kill the Dreamslayers. And I didn't avoid those odiumspawn, I cut them in two."

At this, the man laughed, a hollow, bitter laugh. "Oh, your sense of humor could dry out the Water Elemental Plane! Do you realize the sheer idiocy of such a statement! Those things don't die!" To illustrate this, he drew, from a nearby chest, a very sharp katana- or what remained of it, the sword had been broken in two. "Weapons are useless against those beasts." He said, tossing aside the ruined weapon. "And magic's no better!" he drew a scroll, bound in black silk, from one of the bags. "This here, contains the precise and exact knowledge necessary to, once, only once, mind you, call forth a blast of unchecked elemental fire that is more commonly used to refine raw adamantium! Those… odorspawn, or whatever you called them, shrug off the flames as it they were mere sparks!"

Ladis scratched his head. "Have you tried elemental wind? I did, it worked well…"

The robed man looked at Ladis, his glowing yellow eyes giving him an incredulous look. "Are you truly daft? Nothing works on them! The only way one could hope to damage, let alone destroy those aberrations is..."

The man stopped, his eyes falling upon the gauntlets and leg bracers that made up the Soulblazer Armor. "My… my God. It can't… it isn't… it… it is, isn't it…"

He stepped forward, and trembling, touched Ladis' right gauntlet. "The armor… the armor that conquers fate… bless the father, I'd never believed that I'd live to see such an artifact… and in use! Worn by the hero! The sheer impossibility!"

Ladis took back his hand from the man's grasp. "Yeah, that'd be me, I'd guess. Now, what are you doing here?"

With a nod, calming himself, the man cleared his throat. "I am the Merchant, m'lad. Surely you've heard of my endeavors?" Looking disappointed when Ladis shook his head, he continued. "I am a salesman, sir, and, in all modesty, I do believe I can proclaim I am the grandfather of such endeavors. I travel from realm to realm, world to world, peddling my wares. I pander to only a few well selected groups, but still you will not find a better selection anywhere else, I assure you. I am the supreme merchant of all material goods…" and here he sighed. "…or so I was until that bastard Fate came along and meddled with everything. I've been tallying my sales to keep sane."

"Uh… what about food? Water?"

The merchant laughed. "My boy, I also sell foodstuffs of all manner and sorts. Allow me to tell you, by the way, that gyshal greens and growth mushrooms should never, under any circumstance, be consumed together." He held up a large bottle of some unidentifiable liquid. "Ugh… Demetrian Firebrew. Never, ever, ever, touch this stuff. Unless, of course, you LIKE burning from the inside out."

He rummaged a bit more, and pulled out some meat, bread, and flasks of green liquid. "Cazmarous Sheenberry juice." He said in way of explanation. "Very pleasant taste."

A small meal later, the Merchant cleared his throat. "I can't bring myself to charge you for that, m'lad, but, I'm afraid even a hero like you needs to earn some gil…"

Ladis blinked. "Gil….?"

The man stared at him, slightly incredulous. "Money. The universal gold standard. Minted in Baron and accepted worldswide. Or were you under a rock these past few centuries?"

Ladis sighed. "Sort of."

The merchant shrugged. "Anyway, I've found that many an outerplane alchemist wants the odiumspawn dead, for various reasons. One of the most common is that the odiumspawn create a malevolent anomaly in the aether flow, ruining any practical gauging of a realm's magical potency."

To Ladis' bewildered look, he added. "Think of having a magnet in a computer lab. A really, really, big magnet."

Ladis nodded as he got the comparison. "So we have allies in this."

The merchant sighed. "Yes, and no. While they want the Odiumspawn gone as much as you and I, they are, due to laws beyond our comprehension, unable to directly interfere with the realms."

Ladis facepalmed. "Great. And here I thought red tape would be the LEAST of my worries… so what's the point? I still need to kill these damn things."

"The point, lad, is that these individuals are prepared to reimburse you for the task of annihilating these wretched aberrations. You'll need to purchase supplies once you've freed this realm, because from what I hear, this is the least occupied realm. The others are swarming with much more powerful Odiumspawn. Speaking of such, you've been credited 246 gil for your services thus far."

With that, the merchant plunked a small bag of gold coins on his table.

Ladis counted it absentmindedly, wondering, for the moment incredulous, that, maybe, if he kept it up, he could actually make a living after all…

No. Later. First save the world(s). Then worry about financial situation.

"Any chance I can buy some stuff?"

A bit later, Ladis walked out of the room with only 26 gil remaining, but had a leather vest and some medicines to show for it. The leather armor protected his back, chest, and side, and gave him a bit of courage that maybe he could shrug off a blow or two.

Entering the next portal, the one to the right of the middle, darkened portal that still remained impenetrable, Ladis came upon another giant crystal sphere, hovering over a similar pedestal.

Ladis sneered. "Let's skip the part where you act like you can't see me, and move on to the part where I break your crystal hide, okay?"

As expected, the crystal orb crackled with dark energies, as if in affront to the insult, and charged.

Ladis stood still.

Fortune had sensed Ladis' lack of movement, and expressed his concern in a torrent of curses, the summary of which were instructing Ladis to move out of the way, fast.

Ladis ignored them. _No more running away._

As the sphere neared, his face twisted into a dark, hateful smile…

Rearing his hands back, he envisioned a lance, made of the soul blade's energy…

…and, lunging forward, slammed the formed, huge, medieval-style lance of spiritual energy with both hands into the center of the orb.

But Ladis was not done.

He released the spear, allowing it to fade instantly, and ducked down, bringing his left foot forward and his right back in a crouch…

…rose in a rising backhand slash with his left hand's soul blade…

…released it, let it vanish, and continued the spin with a forehand right-hand slash…

Brought both hands over his head, increasing the soul blade's length and power…

…and, in one earth-shattering blow, brought the formed greatsword of light crashing down on the sphere.

The blow gashed away nearly a third of the crystal, the remainder flying across the room to slam into an adjacent wall, where the entire sphere broke apart.

…_my, my, my. Someone has a temper._ Came Fortune's mental voice.

Ladis smiled at the way Fortune allowed everything to go in stride, not overreacting at all to the fact Ladis had defeated the beast in no time flat.

_The barrier?_

_Dead. Good luck in there, Ladis. I'm not sure of what's in there, but I'm guessing it's nothing pleasant._

Ladis headed back through the portal, back into the circular hall. He faced the center portal, now devoid of its infernal barrier.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped through….

Back at Fate's Castle, the Dreamslayer Guardians were gathered, trading insults and speculations on who or what the intruder was.

Judgment, his eyes glowing a glaring white, stood with his arms crossed. "Does it matter what he is or is not? He has violated our Lord's code, and must be punished with death and damnation! Such is my divine justice!" He touted, stroking his long, gray beard.

Hatred snorted. "_Your_ justice? You make it sound as if your idea is unique, Judgment, when in fact all you do is mimic the master's own ideals."

Rage growled, his impossible body tensed, as if daring someone… or something… to challenge him to fight. "Already he has done several impossible feats: Infiltrate one of the master's realms, find the nightmare citadel, defeat not one, but multiple odiumspawn, and he defied the master's sight!" His draconic gaze swept to Despair's reptilian form. "How, in all mighty Satan's name, Despair, could you fail so miserably at a simple task!"

Despair growled, the noise and stench of a hundred dying men emanating from his throat. "Be silent, Rage! I was told not to appear in physical nor spiritual nor any form unless the demon heart was destroyed. Until then, I am forbidden to intervene. If it is your wish to tell Fate you find his demands faulty, then none of us shall impede you on your quest to achieve a very painful, very elaborate death."

Rage summoned orbs of lightning to his scaled and furred hands, but, after seeming to consider his options, ceased, though his hateful eyes glared at Despair.

"Perhaps…." Spoke Blasphemy, getting the other seven's attention.

"Perhaps we could suggest a more amusing diversion to Lord Fate…"

Apathy, her icy body motionless until now, suffered to move her frozen head to gaze at Blasphemy. "You wish for death too? Go find it yourself." She said, her voice void of any emotion.

Blasphemy chuckled, and, in response to the demonic cacophony that emerged from within his cloak, all but Cruelty shifted away from him.

"The boy had a family… a family who despised and hated him. Yet he always had a bit of hope for them… some small wish that they could change… perhaps we could arrange for them to… impede his progress."

Despair shared an incredulous look with the rest of his comrades. "How do you know such things?" he asked, with both jealousy and reverence in his voice.

Blasphemy smiled, revealing rows of ivory teeth. "I have my ways." He said, simply.

Cruelty rose with a start. "Why have them simply… impede! Have them fight the fool to the death!"

Blasphemy held his cloaked head in thought. "…perhaps Satan does allow some of his wisdom to circulate. Break his spirit, _then _break his body. Make him kill his own flesh and blood." Blasphemy chuckled. "Fiendishly clever. But why stop at his family? I know of two other souls who wished the boy, Ladis, none but the worst. Perhaps they will not impede him as morally as the others, but we can always use more cannon fodder…"

Ladis cast a Cure spell on himself, gasping as the spines of the Spiker Odiumspawn were ejected from his body by the healing magic's power. Apparently, the Cure spell disinfected and removed foreign material from his wounds, as well.

When he was healed and spine-free, he snorted. He had arrived in a room, where, in the midst of a bottomless chasm, stood five, gigantic pillars that rose in ascending height, and on each pillar he leapt to, he had to deal with various fiendish odiumspawn, the worst of which were the "Spikers", spiked balls of odium that hurled black spikes at him, which sunk into his arms and legs and burned like fire while they remained inside. Fortunately, he had removed them, and his armor had survived the battles. The odiumspawn, numerous as they were, however, did not.

After the last odiumspawns' corpse had faded, he spied yet another small, glowing ball of light.

_Another prayer, _he thought solemnly.

Touching it, he heard the sad voice of a young boy…

_They're hurting mommy… make them stop, God! Make them stop hurting mommy!..._

In his hands formed what the merchant had described as an Ether, a potion that replenished lost mana.

"The soulless bastards…" he growled. "They'll pay for this…"

He turned his attention, after storing the item, to a raised platform a few feet away from the pillar on which he stood. From where he was, he could vaguely make out the form of a portal…

Calling on the boots power to aid him in a jump, he leapt over to the ledge, and landed in a crouch. Before him was the portal he'd spied, and only now could he detect the raw dark energy that lay behind it.

Not bothering to even brace for the stepping through of solid rock, Ladis charged in, his soul blade lit and ready for battle.

When he opened his eyes, he saw, in the middle of a large, circular room, a pulsating orb of pure dark.

_The Demon Heart…_!

Back on the beach, the specter known as Ansem heard again the signs that the eternal tragedy the island suffered was repeating yet again.

"Kairi!"

"Sora!"

In the dead, grey sky, a large, red object slowly descended, the pinpoint of red becoming larger and larger…

Ansem fell to his knees. In repentance for what he had done. In sorrow for two young lovers who would never again embrace. In despair for the future he could have had…

…and in remorse for condemning the young boy who just arrived to die in the Nightmare Citadel.

Ladis dashed forward, the soul blade gleaming blue-white. He leapt, slashing down as he fell, brutally gouging the dark sphere.

It moved. The blob of pure darkness moved, shifted away from Ladis. Then, in a macabre transformation, twisted and stretched itself to form a large, serpentine beast with a horned snout, and red, glowing eyes.

It lunged, and blade met hide in a cacophony of a howl and a battle cry.

Ansem looked up, watching as the sand on the beach began to part and spray away as the infernal fireball from above descended…

_Why, oh God? Why make them suffer for my sin?_

_Why punish them?_

_I never wanted to hurt anyone._

He didn't hear the two doomed lovers' cries to each other as they futilely raced against their grim fate…

_If you will spare them, whatever god or goddess is listening, if you will grant them peace, freedom from this agony… this eternal nightmare…_

_I can only offer my tattered, broken soul, oh god. I offered myself up as an atonement sacrifice to spare them from this… misery._

Even in as he prayed, his mind mocked him for his worthless offer.

Ladis grunted as he was thrown against the brick walls for the third time by the serpent's thrashing tail. It hit like a wall of concrete, and Ladis' bloody body showed the results.

"Shine Balm! Cure!" he yelled, not stopping to bask in the relief as his wounds healed.

Instead, he waited for the serpent to lunge with it's fangs, and he leapt.

As before, the serpent swung it's tail to bat him away into the wall…

Ladis twisted in midair, aiming his back at the snake's head…

"Wind Cleaver! Aero!" he yelled, forming a jet of air to propel him out of the way of the tail, towards the gigantic black serpent's head…

…twisted again, forming the giant lance of pure energy as he fell.

He glared down at the beast that was responsible for maintaining the eternal nightmare on this realm, summoning all his righteous anger…

…focusing it into one, shearing thrust aimed at the serpent's skull region…

"Kairi! We'll make it! Keep running!"

"It hurts… my leg hurts…"

"Don't give up! We can't give up!"

"Sora! Help me!..."

As the farce played out again, Ansem wept spectral tears in repentance.

The gigantic fireball's fiery mane kissed the air above the lovers as the gap between them closed ever tighter…

"YOU…" roared Ladis as the spear crashed into the startled snake's skull.

"WILL…" he growled as he shifted the blade into the greatsword, shifting and ripping away a large portion of the writhing serpent's head.

"NOT…" He raised the blade above his head, and the serpent, with its one good eye, saw for the last time the incarnation of its kind's doom.

"KILL…" The blade roared with crackling white energy, as Ladis slashed down on the injured area of the snake's skull.

"AGAIN!"

The entire room was flooded with brilliant blue-white light as the blade hit its mark, producing a brilliant flash of light that eviscerated the serpent's black, foul body.

And when the dust settled, there, standing, weary but victorious, was Ladis.

Not the student. Not the withdrawn subordinate. Not the child afraid of each new dawn.

But a warrior of all that was holy and just.

Ansem closed his eyes.

Why it had to end this way was beyond him.

Why the two couldn't have a nice, sappy, normal life together… the reason eluded him.

Why the entire island had to be judged by fire…

Fire…

Wait…

"Kairi!"

The faint sound of two bodies colliding… the absence of the infernal comet's roar…

It… it couldn't be…

He opened his eyes…

Sora and Kairi were locked in a hug.

The meteor was nowhere to be seen. It was impossible… it was inconceivable… it defied any logic or explanation…

_But miracles don't need explanation._ A voice told him.

For the first time since he couldn't remember, Ansem laughed. A healthy, lively laugh.

"GAAAAAAAAAH!" came a voice next him.

He jumped, and saw, with a start, that the boy he has seen dash into the nightmare citadel had returned, albeit in a heap, as though he had… fallen?

_Oy… remind me to brace myself next time I beat one of those damn demon heart thingamajigs. _

_HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT! YOU DID IT! YOU DID IT! YOU DESTROYED THE DEMON HEART!" _Fortune mentally screamed.

Ladis got to his feet, ignoring the cheers from both the couple, Ansem, and Fortune. "It's not over, is it?"

Hearing those words, the couple and Ansem stopped laughing. Ladis was glaring at the sky, still a dead grey.

"I know you're out there! I just wrecked your home, you overgrown lizard! What're you gonna do about it?" challenged Ladis.

The soul blade lit again in his hand, and wisely, Sora, Kairi, and Ansem retreated away from him.

"WELL!" He roared impatiently, his challenge echoing in the stagnant air.

In Fate's castle, Despair rose with a start. His comrades glanced at him for an explanation.

"The… the demon heart… he… he destroyed it!" he announced, fear creeping into his voice.

The others, Cruelty and Blasphemy included, murmured in fear. This was not what Fate had foretold; resistance and uprising where there should have been submission and suppression.

Despair's reptilian eyes glowed with a dark energy. "I will return with the fool's corpse! Tell Master Fate to witness his creation's skill in combat if it pleases him!"

And, in a burst of dark electricity, the huge reptile was gone.

Desecration was the first to speak.

"Who wagers he dies a horrible and embarrassing death?" she spoke with a cruel smile.

All around, for the first time in ages, the Dreamslayers nodded in assent.

Finally something they could agree on.

Ladis stood at the crimson water's edge, ignoring the stench of dead fish and rancid water.

Waiting for the cue for battle.

Then, as if to answer his challenge, the red waters began to split, not unlike some twisted parody of the biblical parting of the Red Sea.

The bloody waters kept receding further and further apart, revealing a bowl shaped crater out away from the beach. The sand where the water had been was disturbingly dry.

In the middle of the crater, a crack was forming, and a slow upheaval of stone and sand signified something large was surfacing.

Ladis, ignoring the warnings from the three behind him, rushed out to the arena of earth…

As he entered the crater, the stone and sand parted to allow a huge, reptilian, green-scaled beast to leap out. It landed with a crash ten or so feet away from Ladis, and it glared at him with eyes full of hate and loathing.

"FOOL! YOU DARED TO DESECRATE MY REALM! NOW YOU SHALL JOIN THE INFIDELS WHO RESIDE HERE!" the beast bellowed.

"I am Despair, the eater of all life's hope, and today you die, SoulBlazer!" it hissed.

Ladis' cold, unfeeling scowl remained. "Enough talk. You die. Now." He said calmly.

As if some signal had been sounded, heard only by Despair and Ladis, the two charged at each other, each sounding a cry of anger and hatred for the other.

The Keyblade Master, his princess, and his former enemy could only watch in horror as the most terrible, most rancor-soaked battle the island had seen began to unfold.


	3. A past best forgotten

OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS:

Path of Eternal Nightmares

_The path that we're called to is not always crystal clear,_

_There's trials, tribulations, anger, hate, shame and fear,_

_the wrong words get said, tempers flare and erupt,_

_and the only way out, it seems, is to give up,_

_But don't ever lose hope, in this time of great trial,_

_Though hell's demons cackle, and strong towers sway,_

_For where there is death, there is also revival,_

_And wherever there's a will, there shall be a way._

Ballad Of The Unnamed Bard, Verse III

Chapter 3: A PAST BEST FORGOTTEN.

Ansem wasn't a "combat virgin".

Not by any mortal definition of the term.

He had gone toe to toe (In his less honorable days) with the young Keyblade master, in an earth-shattering battle, that he had lost. (Which was fortunate, he had decided, not relishing the devastation that would result had he of prevailed in his tormented hours.)

It was truly a dire and powerful battle, and he often wondered if Sora himself still felt some of the sting, despite the Curaga spells his friends had empowered him with.

But this…

This was not a battle.

This was raw hatred, a sheer opposition of two very dark-minded combatants who knew no rules, no mercy, and no reason to hold back.

He glanced at the two… children… dear God in heaven, they were children!

Children enduring hell!

Children forced to watch this damned drama of violence!

True they were stronger, spiritually and physically, than most children,

But… he couldn't help feeling… that this, them having to witness such a brutal battle, was wrong.

This wasn't how you were supposed to grow up.

A roar of pain came from Ladis as he felt his side gashed from the reptile's claw tore the air as he was flung into the air, a bloody gash in his right side raining down small drops of scarlet blood as he was hurled helplessly skyward.

It burned. It burned like someone was sticking a red hot poker into his side.

_God let it stop…_

He felt the sharp stings in the back of his head as the rush of something rising up towards him echoed in his ear…

Twisted in midair.

Thrust the soul blade in his right hand downward, and smiled, a sick, grim, nigh demonic smile, as the reptilian beast named Despair contorted his face in shock, surprise, and pain as the blade stabbed into it's left claw, which, unimpeded, would be capable of rending the boy's chest open.

The blade did not pierce to its full length, magically enhanced scaly hide saw to that. But the wound was deep enough to elicit a grunt of pain from the beast.

That's when gravity took affront to the spectacle, pulling the rivals back to the pit below, and, judging by the look of confusion on the quadruped lizard-behemoth's face, he had no ability to fly.

Ladis fell with him, trailing him by a few feet, as Despair fell downward, his back towards the earth, a look of genuine dismay in his eyes. Seeing his foe rendered temporarily incapable of defending, he reached his hands back, ignoring the burning pain of his injury, and prepared to form the soul blade into the lance form.

The thing about the lance form was that it wasn't stable. It didn't retain its size and power for long, and repeated use, Ladis had found, was physically taxing. Not something he needed in a long term fight.

The ground was rushing up to meet Despair's back…

Ladis tilted his body back, allowing air resistance to let him fall marginally slower than Despair. The gap between them widened to ten feet. Then fifteen.

Despair gave a cry like a strangled dog as he hit the sandy ground, and Ladis saw his chance when the beast's chest was exposed.

He activated the boots and the lance at the same time, using his right arm to drive the weapon down…

…and with a loud screeching rip, the energy lance tore into Despair's chest, the excess energy slamming into his ribs, inducing both a ghastly laceration and massive concussive damage. Despair's response was to bellow in a howl of pain that bore uncanny resemblance to what one might imagine to hear if several watermelons were crushed simultaneously while several hundred chalkboard were slashed with iron nails.

Ladis leapt off the flailing, cacophony-spewing beast, and called forth a potion from his ethereal inventory, first pouring half of the medicine into the wound, resulting in frothing bubbles, pain relief, and gradual closure, and them imbibing the rest. The taste was of watered down citrus Listerine, not exactly savory or sweet, but the fact his wound was now healed was worth the aftertaste. He turned his attention back to the fiend, who had gotten back to its feet, and was clearly in a foul mood.

"THAT, fool mortal, was a mistake!" he growled, a small blood of purplish blood pooling in the sand beneath him.

"Funny, doesn't look like one." Ladis taunted. He held the soul blade in his right hand, beckoning to Despair with his left. "Come on, let's get this over with."

Despair, his behemoth tail swishing side to side, growled menacingly, then charged, baring rows of dagger-like teeth.

Ladis, in response, held out his left hand again. "Wind Cleaver! AERO!"

Obeying his command, a small, slicing gale rushed to meet Despair, who took the cutting blast of wind dead on, a roar of pain crashing through the air as the winds slashed his shoulder, streams of black and purple mist rising from the area afflicted.

_Hey, Ladis, this is a crazy ass guess, but I think this idiot's vulnerable to wind magic._ Came Fortune's mental voice.

Ladis smiled inwardly. "..ya don't say."

Despair, however, was none to happy about this turn of events. "So you can use magic… fine! Then try this on for size!" the reptilian incarnate of woe bellowed, as it braced itself with its massive paws.

"Demon's Whisper Of Hell! Grave Breath!" Despair groaned. As soon as the incantation was finished, Despair began to belch thick, green smoke at Ladis.

_Ladis! That stuff will rot the skin clear off your bone!_

_Will the barrier block it! _Asked Ladis nervously. The wall of flesh-decaying smog was closing in.

_IdunnojustdoitFORCHRISTSAKE!_

Ladis crouched down, and, pouring all his energy into it, envisioned a barrier not just covering his front, but his entire body…

From their safe point, Sora, Kairi, and Ansem watched helplessly as Ladis was devoured by the green fog.

"The demon's whisper… it decays anything it touches…" Ansem breathed in despair. "Nothing can survive it."

Sora, his face twisted in frustration, turned to Ansem. "We have to help him!"

Ansem shook his head. "He's dead, young one. And even if he was not, I am without magic, and you are without the keyblade."

Sora shook his head. "That's not true! I…" he extended his hand, as many a time before, to call forth the weapon that defeated so many heartless…

…and it did not come.

Again, and again, he tried, the panic rising in his throat like hot, acidic bile. "No…" he moaned. "I… it can't…"

"The Keyblade was sundered by Despair when he bested you in combat, as hope disappeared from this realm. You were fortunately unconscious, or the emotional link would have killed you in spirit and body, permanently." Ansem stated.

Kairi brought the two out of their respective glooms by pointing toward the arena. "Look! He…"

Ansem turned, and, for the second time, his jaw dropped. "I don't believe it…"

As soon as the green haze dissipated, Ladis lowered the shield. It was a lot less draining than blocking a Stone spell, probably because the gas didn't have much force behind it.

Despair did not take the sight well. "WHAT! HOW?" he bellowed, his eyes wide in confusion.

Ladis, seeing an opening, dashed forward, slashing him across the face twice, evoking another cacophonic roar from the unholy lizard. "I endured my dad's booze breath for 14 years. It'll take more than smoke to do me in." he mocked as he kicked off the beast's snout, evading a retaliatory swipe of its claw.

"Impudent human! I'll crush you like I crushed everyone else!" Despair roared, rearing back on its hind legs, then crashing down with both paws.

Ladis jumped back, easily evading the blow. "Idiot, I saw that one coming last week!" Ladis taunted, smiling at the beast's poor accuracy…

…and letting loose a combination of a venomous curse and a grunt of pain as the beast's tail slammed him across the arena, skidding him off the sand floor, and slamming him into a wall.

"I'll bet you saw that one coming next millennia, maggot." The dreamslayer beast taunted as Ladis struggled to get up.

"Sc…screw you, you overgrown snake…" Ladis coughed up blood as he tried to retort.

When his vision cleared, he saw he'd spat up a lot of blood. And more was on the way, it felt…

_SHIT._

He jumped into the air, using the boots power to boost his height, forced himself not to vomit, and downed another potion.

The Listerine taste made him even more nauseous, but the broken ribs he'd suffered were, at least, healed.

However, Despair was readying the breath attack again. And, even with as little training as he'd had, Ladis knew that there was no way he could form another surrounding barrier like before.

Despair repeated the incantation, spewing the rotting smoke up at him…

Then a smile came to Ladis' face.

"Wind Cleaver! Aero!" Ladis yelled, aiming his hands downward.

Focusing his will, Ladis used the spell to create a large wall of rushing air, rather than the damaging vortex needed for combat, and aimed it at the smog steadily flowing up at him.

The desperate maneuver worked, and the wall of air sent the cloud of rotting smoke back at its sender, doing… absolutely nothing, aside from make Despair even more enraged.

"YOU INSUFFERABLE PIECE OF…"

Sora and Kairi blinked at the sudden deluge of foreign words from Despair. "What did he say he'd rip off and feed him again?" asked Kairi, her innocent eyes turning to Sora.

"I dunno. He used a lot of weird words…"

"What'd he call him again, a mother…what-er?"

"I think it was one of those things really bad words Cid says when he drops something on his foot."

Ansem suppressed a chuckle.

Sora turned angrily to his ex-nemesis. "What's so funny?"

Ansem turned to him, grinning a grin that, previously, Sora had taken as a warning sign the mage would unleash some sort of arcane havoc the likes of which was not meant to be seen by mortals. But no dark sorcery occurred, instead, Ansem gestured to the reptile. "We may very well be witnessing the fall of the beast."

Sora blinked. "What? But that thing's way too strong!"

Ansem held up a hand. "Have you ever heard of it? The Demon's Whisper art?" At Kairi's and Sora's shaking of heads, (which were disturbingly synchronized- he'd have to write a thesis on emotional psychic links when and if he got out of this mess) "It is a powerful demonic art, the likes of which only the foulest of demons and their ilk can bear to use. It summons forth a cloud of pure decay, which will instantly decay anything that enters its foul vapors. But…" and here Ansem smiled cruelly, clearing savoring the downfall of an oppressor. "…the art expends a great deal of both physical and spiritual energy, and repeated use leaves the user in dire need of rest." He gazed at the beast. "I assume, judging by his strength and power he demonstrated when he fought you on this island, he has one use of it left before his mana is tapped out. Then…"

Ansem's toothy grin made the beast's fate very clear.

Ladis landed, and charged, saving his banter and taunts for when he could afford to rest. Despair was ready, and reared back, ready to crush him…

Ladis stopped abruptly, easily dodging the blow. "Missed again, fatass."

In response, Despair again shifted his weight, and swung his tail with mountain-shattering force. "Flattened again, human…eh?"

Ladis had leapt into the air right as the tail swung.

"So you learn quickly…" Despair slashed out with both claws, swinging wildly, and Ladis responded by forming the twin, shorter soul blades, and slashing and parrying the blows as best he could.

Despair grinned a malicious smile of teeth and scales, and swung his tail again at the mid-air Ladis.

Ladis, in the few split-seconds he had before the tail struck, knew there was no way to dodge. But to make sure it wasn't a total loss…

The blow struck Ladis solidly, and he felt three ribs snap as he was violently thrown into a rock portion of the arena.

However, despite the pain, he smiled as he heard Despair howl in rage.

Right as the tail had struck, Ladis had slashed with the "greatsword" soul blade, the added force of Despair tail being used against him to make the gash caused even more severe.

Ladis raised a hand. "Shine Balm! Cure!"

Again the healing magic repaired all but a few cuts and bruises, but Ladis felt his internal energy wavering.

_I can't do that again, _he realized. _ I'm out of mana…_

Despair charged forward, his eyes glazed with fury.

Ladis suddenly remember the ether. Calling it forward, he downed it quickly (God, the taste reminded him of the times he'd taken cough syrup)…

Despair was nearly upon him, and Ladis had no where to dodge to, except up, and then Despair would just swat him again… dodge left or right, the tail would get him… charge, and he'd use the breath…

Ladis was nigh on panic, but then, the soul blade crackled, pulsing with energy.

The back of his mind prickled as new information ran through his mind, as if the armor was… teaching him?

He charged, the soul blade burning bright, and leapt at Despair.

Despair, in casual response, opened his maw to consume the SoulBlazer…

"Rage…" Ladis growled, gripping the sword with both hands, the ethereal blade glowing brightly.

"Impulse…" he called on both the power of the boots and Aero to boost him forward at an incredible rate of speed, accelerating him towards the beast's mouth…

"CRAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSHHHHH!" Ladis roared, the soul blade flaring up with energy in response to the bizarre invocation.

He felt his muscles tighten, his reflexes grow to… alien quality… he barely registered the impossible speeds at which he moved, dodging Despair's bite and responding with a series of dashing slices and thrusts, ending with Ladis thrusting both hands in front of Despair's face.

"WHAT THE…" was all Despair got out before a wave of pure aether energy erupted forward as Ladis poured nearly all his inner power into the blast, sending a short, destructive wave of energy straight into the infernal beast's face.

The sheer force of the attack caused Despair to slide back in the sand about ten feet, and his face was horribly marred; a large, gaping hole in the side of his mouth oozed purple blood, as did the many wounds on his tail, legs, and body.

Ladis tried to use the boots to boost himself forward, but they refused to activate. He then realized, with a small pang of horror, that he must have exhausted the armor's energy for such powerful maneuvers, and it needed time to recharge. Time he simply didn't have.

Despair, purple ichors spilling from his wounds was in no mood to allow such a brutal attack go unpunished. "DEMON'S WHISPER OF HELL! GRAVE BREATH!" it roared, rearing its head back to spew the deadly smog at Ladis…

…and gagging as the majority flew out of its new mouth wound, the remainder forming a small, insufficient cloud in front of the beast's bloodied face.

"No… I will not be defeated by this whelp!" Despair roared in desperation, leaping into the air, and preparing to crash down on Ladis with all his strength…

Ladis saw the mammoth-sized mass of scales and claws coming down, and without the boots, he had no chance to survive after such an exhausting attack…

Unless…

Ladis aimed at the ground, calling forth the last of his mana. "WIND CLEAVER! AE…"

BOOM.

Despair felt his body slam into the sandy ground, and he, despite his pain, smiled. Surely the boy had been crushed underneath his massive body, driven into the sand by the mighty blow!

Strange, he had not felt the resistance he'd think would accompany landing on a humanoid, but then again, maybe the so called "hero" was soft boned…

Odd, there was a shadow over him… had a particularly dark cloud passed overhead, to signify the passing of this realm's last chance at salvation?

He lifted his head to see what caused it… and Despair's last thought, before the soul blade pierced his skull, was that the cloud bore an uncanny resemblance to the former hero…

The horrible pain that came with his realization of his failure to kill a mere mortal far outweighed the relatively meager discomfort caused by Ladis' soul blade piercing his skull.

Ladis leapt off the dying beast's skull as it flailed backward, staggered on its hind legs, then fell forward, its battered face looking at Ladis, a sick, twisted mockery of a grin on the former Dreamslayer beast's face…

"Are you satisfied, "Soul Blazer"? Are you joyous?" it spat, not bothering to get up. "Is this the pinnacle of your religion? Have you reached your life's goal?"

Ladis shook his head. "Not until I exterminate each and every last one of you."

Despair laughed, coughed, gagged on his own bile and blood. "You say that like it's some sort of… noble purpose, like it really will bring hope…" Despair heaved, a puddle of purple ichors forming at his mouth. "Hope… do you think **you** represent it?" it snorted in a gasping wheeze. "Tell me… how do you plan to shield them… from life?"

Ladis jerked at that. "Life?"

Despair laughed bitterly. "Life… by nature, is a struggle. They will know pain, fear, shame, anger, hatred… yes, even despair… did you fight me thinking you would expunge all these things? No… these they shall suffer, and more."

Ladis stepped forward. "But that's life… that's part of LIVING! You just kept them in death, constantly tormenting them!"

Despair chuckled at that, the sound of drowning rats escaping his maw in a rasping wheeze. "You offer pain in life with the promise of false hope… I offer pain in death with the promise of stability… it never gets better, but it never gets worse…"

Despair spat out more blood, and his tail, slowly slackening in movement, went limp. "The only… difference between… you and… me… is that… I… reveal… the tr…uth…"

"No. You reveal a nightmare, and a lie. I reveal the end… of your goddamn sadistic games!" Ladis hissed.

"Meaningless." Despair hissed. "You go… against the will of Fate. No one, not even your so called god can alter that which Fate has decided. And Fate has decided that you will suffer along with the rest of these realms."

Despair heaved one last time, and its reptilian eyes began to grow dim. "Enjoy the façade you've created while you can, Soul Blazer. It won't last long…"

And with those final words, Despair coughed, and grew still.

For what seemed like an eternity, Ladis stood there, Soul Blade still lit, the pain of his injuries causing his weary body to ache all over…

As if on cue, the world around Ladis grew impossibly bright… he felt himself being lifted off the ground…

_Ladis stood on a cliff, overseeing a vast desert patch of sand._

_In the patch of sand was written a detailed account of all of mankind's flaws and sins, and endlessly, naked humans were forced, by golems made of sand, to write more and more sins… the accord in the sand grew ever larger, the sins ever mounting…_

_Then, suddenly, a gust of cool wind, hinting at the promise of rain, came, and the golems of sand shattered at the damp breeze…_

_The accord of sins, which seemed to stretch for miles, was scoured clean by the wind as a light, cool rain fell on the parched humans below, who reveled in it. _

_After a time, the rain stopped, and the sand dried nigh instantly._

_Before Ladis, a path down from the cliff was made clear. At the bottom was a sharp, pointed stick…_

…_and a voice resounded. "It is your turn to carve. What shall be the story?"_

_And, slowly, Ladis began to write._

_Not about the sins man committed…_

_But the way those sins were paid for…_

And as if he had awakened from a dream, Ladis stood on the beach, his once aching and weary body now fully rejuvenated… heck, even his leather armor was fixed…

The water lapped at his feet, and he moved to shake off the bloody…

Wait… wait!

The water was normal, and seabirds cawed in the sky, now dotted by clouds, and adorned with a bright noonday sun.

He looked behind him, and, in place of the entrance to the Nightmare Citadel, there stood a series of treehouses, intricately built, like something out of a child's dream…

"Sora?..." came a girl's voice… Ladis whirled around.

There stood both Sora and Kairi, the girl lifting her formerly hurt leg. "My leg… my leg doesn't hurt anymore! We're… we're back!" she sobbed in joy.

The two embraced in a deathgrip hug, and Ladis smiled at the tender moment…

_WE DID IT! WE DID IT! WE FREAKING KICKED A DREAMSLAYER'S ASS! WAAAAAAAAHHHHOOOOOOOO! _Came Fortune's telepathic cheer.

But Ladis had other things on his mind. "Ansem… where's Ansem?" he asked of the two, who stopped hugging and looked about the beach.

"…up here." Came the voice. Ladis looked skyward, and, sure enough, floating a few feet above the treehouses, was the spectral form of Ansem.

"How come you're not…?" Began Sora.

Ansem smiled sadly. "Alive? I never wanted to be. I don't deserve to live again. I just wanted… to stay… and apologize for what I did… I was… in a bad state…" he hung his head.

Sora seemed taken back. "You… don't want to come back?"

Ansem nodded slowly. "I only wished to help, in some small way, to undo what I helped do… please… please forgive me…"

Sora stepped forward, as did Kairi, who spoke. "We all make mistakes… but I think it's knowing what we did was wrong and making up for it however we can that counts… we forgive you Ansem…" she said softly.

Ansem turned to Ladis. "Soul Blazer… I plead thee… tell me… have I atoned? Can I be forgiven?"

Ladis shook his head. "Sin can never be atoned for by a sinner."

Ansem hung his head, and Sora and Kairi looked at him in shock and anger…

"But… you prayed, didn't you? You asked, all this time, not for mercy for yourself, but for them, and for forgiveness for yourself?"

"Yes… yes I did… every day…"

"Someone listened, Ansem. When you believed… your sins were gone… you atoned when you accepted the fact you couldn't, but did what good you could."

Ansem's face finally seemed to reflect peace… "I… see… I cannot endure to trouble this world any longer… but… before I depart…" he took a small jewel, about the size of a marble and as round, and tossed it to Ladis, who caught it. "I give you my strength. Call me if you need help…"

And with those final words, Ansem's specter vanished.

Kairi spoke first. "Is he…"

Ladis bowed his head. "He's… at peace. He finally forgave himself."

Sora shook his head. "It's so… stupid… we forgave him… why couldn't he come back!"

Ladis sighed. "You died and were reborn every day in that nightmare. You got rest- very horrible rest, but rest nonetheless… while Ansem was made to watch over and over. He… he needs to rest." Ladis said, trying to put the impossible into words.

Sora turned to Ladis. "Will he… be happy now?"

Ladis nodded. "Yes."

_Yo, Ladis, we need to talk to you for a bit. In the wacky house._ Came Fortune's call.

Ladis turned to the two. "I need to go somewhere for a bit. I'll be right back."

The two nodded in understanding, and Ladis turned to walk away…

_Hey, wait a second… how do I get back there?_ Ladis asked mentally.

_DOH!... Hang on, I'm creating a door for you. Waitasecond… there._

Sora watched the stranger bow his head as in thought, then look around. He had said he was going somewhere for a bit, but he'd stopped, and…

"Ah, there it is." The boy said at last, looking towards the shack.

Puzzled, Sora turned his head towards it as well…

Huh. That shack never had an extra door before. Come to think of it, he could have sworn it'd just appeared… and why was the stranger walking towards it?

Sora began to walk toward him, when the boy raised an armored hand.

"Don't look directly at it. It makes your eyes go funny." He stated as a word of caution. Sora gave him a bewildered look, and began to ask a question…

That's when he opened the door.

Sora's reflexively flung himself away from the ensuing flashes of light and chaotic starbursts that assaulted his vision, praying the sensory assault wouldn't make him go blind…

When he was sure his vision was okay, and after dusting himself off and assuring Kairi he was fine, he turned to see just what the heck had happened…

The door was gone. Along with the hero.

The Hero who, somehow, defeated the monstrosity that was Despair.

Sora lifted his hand, calling out for the Keyblade. Like it was not a question if it would come, but a fact, it appeared, good as new, in his hand.

Hope had returned.

_And Despair fell, and neither his breath of the grave nor his mighty fang and claw prevailed over the warrior Ladis…_

_And those who witnessed the mighty battle and Despair's fall asked:_

"_Who is this, he who brings hope to the hopeless?_

_Who sunders the wicked that no other could slay?"_

"_Is he not a saint to end such suffering,_

_To give strangers a new life to live?"_

-Entry I of the Mavanus Chronicles

Ladis arrived, after shutting his eyes to the rush of flashing lights, back at the… house. Or mansion. Or whatever the hell they called this place.

"Welcome back, Soulblazer." Came Garadien's calm, steady voice. "I see… you were successful in your first attempt."

Ladis absentmindedly nodded. "…bastard was harder than I thought." He mumbled incoherently.

"And they'll get harder. They're on to you, now, Fate's minions." Garadien spoke. "The idea that one of their own is fallible is no longer a mere possibility, it is a reality."

Fortune, still shuffling his deck of cards, spied Ladis, and, in one fluid jump, leapt over to him and began to shake him. "YA DID IT! YA FREAKING DID IT! YOU BEAT DESPAIR! Whooooooo!" the clown/telepathic cheer as he rattled Ladis' spine.

"He-e-e-e-e-e-y! L-e-e-e-me Go!" Ladis gasped.

Fortune set the Soulblazer down, and did a few backflips.

"No more Lucy re-RUNS! No more Lucy re-RUNS!..." he chanted. Ladis looked at Garadien for an explanation.

"Without any realms to watch, all he's had to amuse himself is criticizing my choice of clothes, a deck of cards, and "I Love Lucy" reruns." Garadien stated.

Ladis observed Fortune with a raised eyebrow, watching as the crazed psychopath did a triple backflip.

"Great…" Ladis muttered as he staggered over to one of the pillars, sighed, and sat down, running his armored hand through his hair.

"Ladis… is something wrong?" asked Garadien, ignoring Fortune, who was now setting off a pack of fireworks he'd conjured out of thin air.

"The Dreamslayers… can they repossess that world?" Ladis looked up, his eyes pleading.

Garadien smiled, and Ladis saw, in his eyes, a sense of… triumph? It was gone in a second, and Garadien spoke. "No. They only get one shot at a realm. With Despair gone and dead, and the nightmare citadel removed, Odium can never reenter that realm."

Ladis breathed a sigh. "That's a relief."

Garadien nodded. "However, I'd suggest you make ready for stronger opponents… no doubt Fate is slightly disturbed by something going wrong in his 'perfect' plan…"

Garadien, as it was, was not only a master of magic and manipulation of arcane force, but an expert in the fine art of understatement.

As Cruelty, his skull seeming to force itself into a grin, retold the tale of how Despair had fallen (placing great emphasis on how sluggish and ill-prepared Despair was against the Actraiser Armor's power) to his master Fate, the once invincible master of demonic magic scowled darker and darker, to the point the look could shatter stone with a glance… save that Fate had eradicated any natural material in this realm whatsoever, so there was no stone to break.

"So he has failed, then." Fate said, his voice flat. Emotion, he had decided, was a tool of the weak. "And not only has he lost me a realm, he has done it in such a utterly stupid manner as to embolden the Soulblazer?"

Cruelty nodded in affirmation. "I dare not question thy wisdom, oh great lord Fate… Despair was condemned to fail at the slightest task the moment he was allowed to think for himself, just as the foolish boy who slew him is condemned to die. It is a catalyst of any way… the ignorant fall first."

Fate's gaze remained dark. The other Dreamslayers, who had stayed their distance, now watched Cruelty attempt to assuage their leader's fears…

He had considered, once the boy had destroyed the demon heart, going down personally. Challenging him. Snuffing the pitiful pest's life out once and for all.

But such a drastic measure would, as the mage told him, leave his home realm unguarded. None of the Dreamslayers had power in his realm- it was a safeguard against uprising. His best bet now was to send his remaining Dreamslayers, one-by-one, and hope that either the physical, mental, or emotional trauma this… 'Ladis' faced from his servants would be enough to render him hapless.

He had to, in some dark, twisted way, admire the boy's tenacity… no doubt he, being a mundane, was still reeling from the shock of being drafted into this duty, abandoning his family, his friends, his life… and yet he fought without restraint.

"However…" spoke Cruelty, and he waved a bony hand to Blasphemy, who rose. "Blasphemy has, in a rare moment of clarity, contrived a means to break not the boy's body, perhaps… but his soul…"

Fate's eyebrow rose ever so slightly.

Blasphemy spoke gently, as if to slowly introduce the idea. "I have word that the Soulblazer's family exists in the Timeless Zone, along with the mundane ones… perhaps we could use them, along with two others, to… rattle the boy's spirit, so to speak."

Fate rolled his eyes. "Fool… those in the Timeless Zone must leave willingly with one powerful enough to traverse back and forth, or be reinstated into existence through a link with the Soulblazer. Do you think there are any such mortals who would willingly aid in the destruction of their savior, much less their own son?" he growled.

Blasphemy smiled a demonic grin. "Firstly, remember in your wisdom that these are, in fact, members of the mundane realm. Their lot crucifies more saints than all others combined."

Fate, who was preparing to tear apart Blasphemy for his idiocy, refrained, bringing his hand to his chin in thought. "That may be true… but surely his own family would not turn against him."

"Ah, but Lord Fate, would it interest you to know that his family and two others attempted to end his life for no other purpose but sport?"

Fate's attention rose at that. "And of course, being of weak sentiment…"

Blasphemy smiled. "The boy was capable of wounding them into incapacitation, but he is far too emotionally weak to be capable of ever thinking of striking them down in combat. The other two, less so, but they hated the boy with a vengeance rarely seen, even in mundanes…"

Fate paused in thought, then smiled.

"It pleases me to find my remaining troops have powers of cognizant thought. Blasphemy, depart to the Timeless Zone, and use thy… methods of persuasion to convince them to join my cause."

"…then I started writing in the sand, and… that's all I remember of the vision." Ladis finished, describing the odd vision he'd seen after slaying Despair.

Garadien nodded slowly. "So, this vision you had… it was tangible? You could feel what was going on?"

Ladis sighed, looking up at the crystalline ceiling of the place Fortune called "The Wacky House", the odd mansion suspended in the nothingness Garadien referred to as the "Beforever", or a place where time did not truly exist.

It was the first place Ladis had arrived at since the incident at Garadien's church, and already the place was feeling like… home.

No. Like a different home. Much more free of negative emotions than his parent's house. At least, now, in between the merchant and the palace's roof, he had fulfilled two needs: income and a place to stay.

"Yes… it was tangible. I could feel the wind, the rain… everything… what did it mean?" Ladis asked.

Garadien smiled. "It means Fate is now minus a significant source of power, and, seeing as this is his first go at Realm-wide domination, he's probably a bit panicky. The realm you visited can never again fall under Odium's grasp."

Ladis nodded, happy with that, and started to head over to talk to Fortune, when a thought struck him. "Wait- my friends! Did they…?"

Garadien shrugged. "Most likely, they wound up there, after Despair was slain, being emotionally attached to you. As to exactly where they are, that is beyond my guess, but I'm sure they're safe."

Fortune, who had ceased jumping around, held his head in thought. "Say, Garadien… if everyone got sucked into the Timeless Zone… then a lot of people will be released randomly into the worlds, right?"

Garadien shook his head. "No. That was taken care of in advance. The only new arrivals will be those who were close to Ladis."

Ladis, hearing this, felt a bit bewildered. "Those close to me?"

"Your friends, your family… those who had strong emotional connections with you…"

Ladis jerked as if he'd been cut. "My family! In that realm!" he gasped, a million different scenarios running through his head, none of them good, of what his family would do to the two children he had seen.

Garadien sighed. "I realize they were extremely flawed in their raising of you, Ladis… but this will be a new start for them. Even they can change their ways."

Fortune walked over, sighing. "That's not gonna happen, pal."

Garadien turned to the jester. "What do you mean, that's not going to happen! I've seen monsters of men far worse than his father repent of their ways, convert to light, and…"

"They're not in the Timeless Zone anymore." Fortune interrupted.

Garadien paled. "Wha… then surely they're in that realm…"

"No, sorry, pal. I checked. They're not in that realm, nor the Timeless Zone…"

Garadien groaned, bringing a hand to his head. "Father Jehovah help us…"

Ladis didn't know exactly what was going on, but he didn't need to in order to discern something was very wrong here. "What happened?"

Fortune turned to Ladis with a sad sigh. "People in the Timeless Zone can only leave one of two ways: They slip into a realm due to connection with someone of spiritual power, like you, or they leave with someone strong enough to breach the boundary between here and there, the Timeless Zone and Reality. And since the only ones capable of doing that are Me, Garadien, the Dreamslayers and Fate himself, and me and Garadien haven't been to the Timeless Zone…"

Ladis reeled, nearly falling over, leaning against a pillar for support. Fortune didn't have to finish the sentence; Ladis understood all too well the implication.

Where he had turned to good, his family had turned to evil.

"_There are many detestable acts one of the evil heart can commit, but few reek so foully as the deplorable act of turning a family against itself."  
-Bahamut, Ancient Great Wyrm._

Terce was not in a good mood.

It was arguable if he had ever known anything beyond seething rancor and pure rage, but at the moment, he was most certainly no avatar of kindness.

His day had been hellish. First, his slave, Ladis, leaves. Without his permission. Acting as if- of all things- he had the right to think for himself! He left! Leaving all the chores, all the work, all the trouble to him!

Then, when his father INSISTED he be given another chance to prove himself, to get back in good graces, what did the lousy, overgrown asswipe do? Accept the simple task of killing a girl and beg forgiveness?

NO!

It was a simple task! Kill a girl tainted by a mudskin! Get your robes! Did the overgrown shithead have any IDEA how many mudskins Terce had to assault before he got his robes!

Of course not. Ladis had his head in the clouds all the time. Didn't care that his stupidity- LEAVING the family without permission from ANY of them- would leave him, mom, and dad to do all the work.

Stupid Shit.

And if the sheer insult, the sheer embarrassment he suffered in front of his fellow klansmen when Ladis ruined everything by playing some sort of politically correct hero wasn't enough, _the shit got him, his family, and his friends thrown in jail!_

For what? Ridding the earth of another mudskin? How was that a crime!

He'd thought, as he lay in his jail cell, that things could not get worse. Not after all the shame he'd suffered. Not after all his hopes and dreams were flushed down the toilet.

They didn't.

They got better.

He had to admit the transition; the chaotic portal that ripped apart the jail walls and sucked him into the… blackness was not his idea of good travel, but the result…

"…so, Mr. Jadesdale, it is thus I am obliged by my honor to tell you that your disowned son, Ladis, is indeed responsible for these occurrences." Finished Fate, his mighty face casting a sympathetic look to Terce.

A knowing look.

The kind of look that showed a man who had too suffered because a stupid family member refused to see the truth.

Aaron Jadesdale, Terce's father, shook his head in shame. They were now in Fate's citadel, the place Terce now knew as home, listening to the tale of how Ladis' foolish actions had, once again, screwed things up.

But not on a single person scale, oh no.

He couldn't just screw up one group, could he?

He had to screw up EVERYONE'S life by reading some stupid magic spell! And if that wasn't enough, he'd somehow got himself a suit of magic armor and now was screwing up the plans of someone who epitomized Terce's ideas!

_Congratulations, brother! I don't know HOW you managed it, but you've fucked up things worse than ever! Proud of yourself yet! Because we aren't!_

"I never believed, not in all eighteen years we endured his troubles, that he could do something so…so…" Mrs. Jadesdale was at a loss for words.

"Juvenile." Finished Frankson, a fellow klansman and the only one who ever bothered to actually delve into the madness that was Ladis' mind- or lack thereof. "Utterly irrational behavior. Subject has clearly progressed to utter dementia and insanity, willingly clouding his mind with fantasies and dream-like states in order to block out reality without any consideration for the harm he will do to his superiors. Recommended correctional therapy: None applicable. The only logical action is to terminate subject before subject further endangers purity and safety of superiors."

Translation- Ladis had finally lost anything resembling a shred of sanity, and needed to be put down, permanently. It was what Terce had been advocating in plain English all this years.

"He's always been causing us suffering- he enjoys it. He associates with those… _impurities…_" spoke Jeanra Jadesdale, Terce's mother.

She had always been soft. Both of them. Using guilt instead of blows to make Ladis understand he was inferior. Only he, Terce, knew the only way to get anything through to Ladis was via puncture wounds to vital areas.

Kellsin snorted, the sound of a bull's grunt ringing through the stagnant air. "He cost me my job, my reputation- everything. Now he's got a friggin' magic toy and thinks he's God's little knight."

Kellsin- The ugly as sin bitch. Still, her methods were effective. She had been thrown out of so many self-defense classes for using excessive force, martial arts studios had started to blacklist her. But she made wonderful music- the wondrous screams of the impure whores who's arms and legs she twisted, bent, broke in her righteous campaign. Of course, like all good things, Ladis had ended that, too.

Fate, the self-proclaimed God of this world (and, Terce admitted, he was the essence of a God- both having and using power as he saw fit), nodded his head.

"Then you all are in agreement with me that this fool- Ladis- cannot be tolerated to live in the future I hope to create?"

Terce stepped forward. "The question isn't if he needs to die. It's how painfully, and how slowly."

There were sounds of assent from the other four, and Terce rejoiced silently at the smile Fate gave them- their new God, a god of purification of the unworthy, had accepted them, welcomed them.

"I hereby proclaim thee the Purifiers, those charged with the task of purifying my lands of the menace named Ladis, and unto thee I give powers to crush his mind, body and soul…"

Kellsin was suddenly thrown to her knees by a shock of black energy, the dark lightning coursing up and down her as her overweight, paunchy form slowly underwent a sort of metamorphisis…

Her stubby, brown patch of hair became long, black-pitch. Her pallor paled to the point that her skin was pure white, her eyes blood red. Her entire body was cloaked in a grey bodysuit of metallic sheen, and, in her hand, was a long, metal, spike covered whip. Her pudgy, large, fat body, now transformed, resembled a beautiful- if evil looking- goddess of war.

"You are hereby Suffering, the demoness who feeds on the pain and humiliation of others. Go now and purge the joy that the Soulblazer brings." Fate commanded.

Cruelty immediately swept over to Suffering, and looked her up and down, his jaw clattering in delight. "Such a desire for pain-causing… yes… you will do well in my realm… I assure you, the delight you enjoyed in the former world can be experienced there as well…" The two disappeared, assumedly to Cruelty's domain.

Jeanra Jadesdale was next. Her body slowly changed into that of a woman shrouded in black robes, her face hidden by a white mask that wept blood. All about her body were chains of magical power, protecting her rather than restraining her.

"You are hereby Lamentation, the mourner who bemoans the faults of all living things. Go now and fetter the Soulblazer with his past sins."

Wordlessly, the form walked over to Desecration. No words were spoken, but the two seemed to have an understanding of their new partnership.

Aaron stood next in line for the dark transformation, spreading his arms as if to embrace the energy that would make him a Purifier. Fate wasted no time with him, enveloping him in a cloak of crimson flame that soon engulfed his entire form.

"You are hereby Ravage, the embodiment of rancor against all living things. Go now and burn away the filthy scum that is the SoulBlazer's lie."

Ravage arose, his body now cloaked in a blood red robe, his face veiled by smoke. At his sides rested two scimitars that burnt fiercely with orange flames.

Even though his hooded face was obscured by a billowing clod of black smoke, it was evident that two red hot coals, serving as his eyes, burned behind the veil of smoke. His hands and feet were bronze, and, as he adjusted to his new form, they gave off sparks and cinders, the air about them shimmering with heat.

Hatred rose, his bulky Minotaur form stomping over to the new Purifier. "You're with me, now. Stay quiet, burn anyone that questions you or me, and if they don't question, burn them anyway."

Ravage shared a harsh laugh with the nightmarish beast as they disappeared in a cloud of embers, and Terce felt a surge of pride- both of his parents had finally seen the light! They would help him destroy, once and for all, the one obstacle that always hurt the family the most- Ladis.

Ladis and his repugnant thoughts.

Frankson was next, enveloped in harsh, searing light that Terce could have sworn was meant to vaporize him, rather than strengthen him.

"You are hereby Inquisition, the all seeing eye who peers into the wickedness of the SoulBlazer's heart and finds his deepest faults. Go now and bring forth the testament that damns his soul." He commanded, causing the light to subside.

Frankson, or, more appropriately, Inquisition, was no longer humanoid, or even remotely bipedal. Rather, he was now a large, floating, fleshy spherical orb, with one large central eye and multiple stalks protruding from his head that held smaller eyes. The central orb bore a large, fanged mouth, and Terce realized with a small start that the new Purifier could easily swallow someone his own size whole.

Inquisition, adjusting to his new form, used his eye stalks to examine himself. "Yes…" he hissed, a new, primal sense of energy creeping into his voice. "I can see… I can see all…"

"You can see all, and help me to judge all." Spoke Judgment, stepping forward. "Soon, the SoulBlazer's damnable intent will be made clear, and all shall be judged in Fate's eyes!" he bellowed.

"Then let us no longer dwindle time saying how we shall judge-" began Inquisition.

"…but begin the judgment of the unworthy! So be it!" roared Judgment, and in a glare of light, the two were gone.

Only Terce remained.

"You may wonder, young warrior of purification, why you have been left for last." Began Fate, his tone ominous.

Terce swallowed a lump in his throat. "Yes… my lord. Am… am I not worthy?"

Fate smiled, a cruel, wicked smile that would leave anyone else chilled to the bone, but to Terce, it was the smile of a brother- a brother he wished he'd had.

"No… you are worthy, but yours is a transformation that requires delicate precision. The other Purifiers may slay Ladis, but it may be that more… precise measures are necessary to end his threat."

Fate stepped closer, and Blasphemy approached as well.

"It is often the case that a power must be met with an opposite power, in order to neutralize the threat it poses. Such may be the case with Ladis."

Terce slowly began to understand what Fate was saying. "So in order to beat the Actraiser armor… and the SoulBlazer…"

"We need an antithesis to counteract it. In order to strike down a warrior of the false god… we need a warrior of the true god. A Soul _Breaker_."

Blasphemy suddenly approached Terce, and held out in his gnarled hands two daggers- and with surprise, Terce suddenly realized these were the same daggers he had that night Ladis had shot him. With reverent movements, he took them again, feeling the same familiar grip.

A gun was a weapon the lesser warriors used. Terce… Terce preferred the melee power of his knives. That way he got to see the looks on their faces as he… removed them from life.

"Extend your weapons, warrior, and think of your hate for the impure filth that taints the worlds…"

Back at the Beforever mansion, Garadien suddenly grabbed at his head, moaning, leaning on his staff for support.

Ladis ran to him, helping him to a chair that Fortune materialized. "Garadien! What happened!"

Garadien shook his head, as if to shrug off the ill effects of a blow. "I sense… a great evil awakening… it… came from your brother, Ladis." Garadien spoke softly, trying hard to break the news gently.

Ladis stood there, his expression a poker face. (At least he hoped it was.)

"I'm sorry." Garadien said softly.

Ladis shook his head. "Don't be. Terce… he proved what I thought."

"Which was?..."

Ladis turned to Garadien, his expression grim. "He's gone. Completely gone. I always hoped that… they would snap out of it, that we could be a normal family…"

But, deep down, Ladis knew that couldn't be the case. He had tried to hate them- to feel vindicated in utterly abandoning his emotions and praying for the worst for them- but he couldn't. No matter how hard he tried, he could neither entirely love and forgive them, nor could he achieve vindication in hating and shunning them.

Ladis sighed, and shook his head.

Garadien spoke after a few seconds. "If it helps any, your friends made it out okay…"

Ladis perked up immediately at that. "Really! Are they in that realm? Are they okay?"

Garadien nodded. "They were extremely lucky… they arrived in a safe area accustomed to this sort of phenomenon. They, however… experienced some changes…"

"I can't tell you how much we appreciate you getting us a house. After what happened…"

"What happened is that when YOU came, all the bad went away. Before that, life was a living… nightmare. I know it's not a consolation for what happened to your home, but considering what's happened…it's nice to see a new face."

Gutarez smiled and nodded to his benefactor, an old, wizened man in odd robes who called himself Merlin. The benevolent sage had appeared right after they had landed in this odd place right after the… there was no other way to describe it- storm.

It had not been an entirely pleasant trip.

(Seven Hours ago…)

"Do you think he'll be all right, alone at that church?" asked his wife, Maria.

"He needs time away from his… family." She said the word with a note of distaste.

"How could they treat their own child so badly…?" she sighed, looking out the window, seemingly scanning the rapidly darkening skies for an answer.

Gutarez shrugged. "Some people weren't meant to be parents."

Maria glared at him. "How can you say that…"

"Mom, Ladis would agree more than anyone that his parents didn't give a damn whether he lived or died." Derrick argued.

"Or if anyone else he knew did." Katrin said, a slight edge of fear in her voice.

Gutarez let one eye sweep over to the glove compartment, where his glock pistol was stored. If anyone came near her on his watch, he'd make sure they'd regret it- he owed Katrin's parents that much for allowing her to come along.

It thundered.

"Bad storm out there." Gutarez mused.

"Do you think he'll be okay in the church?" asked Maria.

Derrick laughed. "He survived living with his family. A little storm is nothing."

More thunder- at least it sounded like thunder, save for at least several times louder.

"Shit." Derrick cursed. "We must be driving through the storm of the millennium…"

Oddly, it had yet to rain. With the sky growing as black as it was, it should be pouring now.

"That sounded… bad." Katrin breathed.

"It's probably just a really bad thunderstorm." Gutarez spoke, trying to quell any panic. "The people at St. Matthews deal with them all the time…"

BOOM. That roll of thunder rattled the car and its occupants.

"..sonofabtich." Gutarez cursed. "If that's not the worst storm I've ever heard of, then I…"

"Dad." Derrick whispered, breathlessly.

"…swear, it's gotta be some sort of supercell, global warming or something…"

"DAD." Derrick interrupted again, urgency in his voice.

Gutarez looked back, ready to reprimand Derrick… when he saw just what was causing him to be so persistent.

About five miles behind them, the ground was being sucked upward into the sky in large chunks.

"Oh. That… that really isn't good, is it?" Gutarez asked, fear creeping into his voice.

Pandemonium reigned inside the car as Gutarez desperately tried to outrun the massive, seemingly omnipotent maelstrom, but to no avail, as soon, the tires left the rapidly cracking highway, and the car became one more object hurtling towards the center of the storm, a mere speck as the orb of chaotic light grew ever larger, sucking in bigger chunks of debris…

The last thing Gutarez remembered was lamenting, idiotically, who would feed his dogs if they all died.

That had, thankfully, been a moot concern. The dogs had someone turned up as well in this… town, as had Katrin's family.

_Like God grouped us all together to make sure we wouldn't be worried about one another._

"My wife seems to be taking it okay, and Katrin's folks are doing good. As for Katrin and Derrick…"

A yell came from over in the park square. "Sky Arrow! THUNDER!"

In response, a tin can, balanced on a cardboard box, was sent flying as a lightning bolt struck it dead on.

Derrick, standing a few feet away from the smoldering can, brought one finger to his lips and blew on it like a gun, seemingly pleased with his actions.

The Sage smiled. "They both seem to have a great deal of latent ability in the arcane arts. They'll find places here too, I assure you."

Gutarez nodded. "Good. It'll be different, but… folks around here seem nice enough. Thanks for everything… Merlin, right?"

The sage nodded, and extended a hand. "Yes. Welcome, Mr. Gutarez, to Traverse Town."

Ladis smiled slightly. "So, they're safe now."

Garadien sighed. "Yes. But remember, Ladis, that there are other realms that suffer. The sooner we release them from Fate's grasp, the better."

Ladis nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I kinda guessed from what happened with that last realm. So, where to next?"

Garadien waved his hand, and seven more doors appeared in various parts of the manor.

"That, friend, is up to you to decide."

Ladis mused for a moment, then walked over to one door, right next to the one he had just previously been to.

"Desecration's territory is behind that door. She has turned a once happy village into a place of nightmares, stricken people with reflections of a happy past they were stripped away from by Fate's cruel intervention." Garadien spoke.

Ladis reached for the door, then stopped. "Desecration… what element is she? Despair was earth… water… she's water, right?"

Garadien nodded. "Correct… but why do you…"

Ladis closed his eyes in concentration, this time imagining Terce being electrocuted by lightning.

His eyes flashed open, and he smiled at Fortune.

Fortune returned the leer, and materialized a glass plate. "Ready?"

"PULL!" Ladis shouted, stretching out his right hand.

Fortune threw the plate in a Frisbee motion, and as it reached the peak of its flight…

"Sky Arrow! THUNDER!" Ladis yelled, evoking a brilliant arc of electricity to fly from his palm and strike the plate, shattering it in a shower of glass and sparks.

Ladis flashed Fortune the peace sign, and then dashed inside the door, resulting in the usual psychedelic light show that came with inter-realm travel.

"Heh. That little impromptu magic lesson sank in after all." Fortune chuckled, amusement hinting in his voice.

He turned to Garadien. "Ya know, we may just have a chance of surviving this mess after all."

Ladis had expected the world he was heading to would be dismal, devoid of energy, ravaged by Fate's attacks. He expected the devastation to be utter and complete, not a single symbol of vitality or hope in the entire land.

He did not expect, however, the number of shades, similar to Ansem in translucency, which wandered this land, all weeping and moaning, endlessly, babbling incoherently to themselves.

He had arrived on another island; however, this one was more populated- if one could consider the amount of shades a "population". The sand beneath his feet was grey like ashes, the island vegetation withered and shriveled. The sky was a noxious green, and the air smelled of acrid chemicals.

As Ladis walked onward, surveying the damage, he came upon a rotted entry arch to a village, where, written on a wooden sign were the words:

_Welcome to Besaid._

Within dwelt a greater amount of shades, their transparent bodies showing ragged clothing, hopeless, forlorn expressions, and the weight of having to endure the nightmarish atmosphere of this island for far too long.

Asking the shades for direction or advice proved futile, as they seemed incapable of hearing Ladis' voice, only continuing to moan and weep incoherently to themselves.

The dwellings these shades resided in resembled large huts, made with cloth and woven grass. At one time they may have been useful for shelter, now they rattled and swayed at the merest gust of acrid wind.

At the end of the residential area, there was a large, stone temple that, at one time, might have had some religious significance. Now, pieces of stone fell away, and unsteady pillars and archways barely supported the supposedly once proud temple.

Ladis, still uncertain of what he'd find within, entered through a crumbling doorway. Maybe some fragment of information would be inside to tell him where the Nightmare Citadel of Water was.

Inside, in one large circle, where many statues, now broken, lined up to (at least he conceived) face those who entered the temple. Larger statues of metal still stood, but rust and corrosion marred what where once undoubtedly great works of art and testimonies to superior metallurgy.

"All my fault. Never should of left the house…"

Ladis turned. There, sitting before some of the more whole statues, was the shade of a blonde haired man, dressed in odd yellow and black garb. He was shaking his head, holding an immaterial sword that looked like… solidified water?

"How could you let this happen… you're supposed to watch… you're supposed to look out for us…"

Ladis started to respond, but then realized the figure was addressing the lifeless statues. The shade slowly rose, grabbing his sword with both hands.

"Guardians… protectors… saints… _my… ass!_" the shade snarled, slashing at the statues with his sword, though the blade did nothing.

"OUR CHILD!"

Slash.

"YOU LET OUR CHILD DISAPPEAR!"

A backhand slice.

"WHAT KIND OF MONSTERS ARE YOU!"

Overhead swing.

The specter then collapsed, sobbing, the immaterial sword falling from his hand. It made no noise whatsoever as it hit the ground.

"My fault… I could of… done something…"

"Done something for what?" Ladis asked.

"Voices… they never go away… they echo… keep telling me I failed…"

The figure stood up, screaming at the crumbling roof.

"I KNOW I SCREWED UP! NOW LET ME DIE! LET ME DISAPPEAR TOO! I CAN'T… I can't… I can't… see her… I can't… say I'm sorry now… I can't… can't… face her."

The shade then resumed slashing at the figures, his blade passing through the unyielding stone with no mark at all. Ladis, shaking his head, looked around for any doors or ways further inside the temple.

Two lower doors were blocked by debris, but a flight of stairs and a doorway behind it appeared clear…

More stairs. Once intricate runes and engravings on the stone walls, now barely recognizable from wear and erosion, signified that this, indeed, was a hallowed place that was not taken lightly by those who entered.

However, the ravages of whatever unholy plague had cursed this temple were fast becoming evident. Cracks in the walls grew more frequent and wider. Proud stone walls lay in rubble. A stone shaft leading down showed a broken stone circle at the bottom, perhaps some sort of crude elevator.

Ladis leapt down, the boots power reducing his fall to the point it sounded like a mere footstep.

A small tunnel of shambled brick led him to a large circular room, where once proud sculptures and designed now cracked and crumbled, faded away to ruin. The only other door was high atop a long flight of stairs, which creaked and cracked beneath Ladis' feet as he trod on them.

He heard sobbing behind a veil of what was apparently an ornate cover of artificial flowers, and, brushing the remains aside…

A young woman's shade, her hair done in a long, wrapped ponytail, her garb oddly like the distressed man's he'd seen earlier, knelt over a large glass dome in the middle of a stone floor, her body shaking with sobs.

"I know we had to unmake you… it was the only way… I know that doesn't make it right! But… take me! Not my son… not our baby…"

"Uh, excuse me…" Ladis spoke…

"He had such beautiful blue eyes… so beautiful… I just want… one more time. Let me and Tidus hold him in our arms again!" the woman wailed.

"_Your weeping is meaningless."_ Came a cold, uncaring, eerily… familiar voice that seemed to emanate from the very walls.

The weeping woman's shade now stood, stumbled past- no, through Ladis, it felt like ice replaced his blood for a moment- and hurried clumsily down the stairs, tripping and falling at the bottom.

"_Cry until there's nothing left to weep. Pray to whatever god you think will bother. No one's going to pity you. You brought this on yourself. He thinks so, too."_

"No… stop… please…." Begged the woman.

"_It's fortunate your father died. He'd of killed himself in shame to see your failure."_

"STOP! NO MORE!"

"_You do not wish to hear the truth, for you know it was you who made the crucial error."_

"NO!"

"_You saw the child as a barrier between him and you."_

"I loved him!"

"_You got what you asked for in your heart."_

"I WANTED A CHILD TO LOVE!"

"_And now like a spoiled girl, you try to take back what you can't undo. Ever."_

"I LOVED HIM! HE WAS MY CHILD! MY BABY!"

"_You deserved to lose him."_

"BE QUIET, YOU SELF-RIGHTEOUS BITCH!" yelled Ladis.

There was a deathly silence, broken only as the woman's shade sobbed.

"_How dare you address me with that tone."_

Ladis felt nausea flow through him like poison. Yes, that was why the voice was so familiar. It was his mother's. _How fucking appropriate. _

"_I nurtured you, raised you…"_

"You told me yourself I was a "spare child" until Terce came along!"

"_We offered you life, and you threw it in our faces."_

"You tried to coerce me into shooting my best friend's girlfriend."

"_Those who accept the tainted's embrace are as vile as the tainted themselves."_

Ladis' disgust with the spectral voice's Nazi logic reached its limit, and he started for the door, then stopped, and bent down beside the woman, still crying.

"She's a lying bitch."

The sobs slowed suddenly.

"Don't listen to her. I'd give anything to have you as a mother."

The shade looked around, confused. Apparently, she couldn't see Ladis, but somehow, she could hear some of his words…

"Don't give up." Ladis said, steeling himself for what he knew he had to do.

Ladis' footsteps as he walked back towards the stone shaft he had leapt down were the only noise breaking the silence.

The shade knelt their, slowly rising to stand, head bowed. A single tear fell from her cheek.

"I won't give up. Ever."

Ladis descended the final stairwell, into the room where he had met the blonde man's shade, who was now muttering to himself in a corner, holding his head in his hands.

"Nice pep talk." Came a gruff voice. "How many fortune cookies did it take you to put it together?"

Ladis whirled, Soul Blade springing to life. The Blonde Man's shade stirred, as if he had heard a noise or felt something.

Ladis was now facing the shade of a burly, muscular man, his left arm covered in an odd armor that protected shoulder to hand, black shorts, and one leg was covered by an orange drape with black characters at the bottom. A huge, black steel sword he held in his right hand and a blood red bandana he had tied around his head, plus the many scars and tattoos he sported, gave the impression this was not the sort of person Ladis wanted as an enemy.

"Five." Ladis said, matter-of-factly, as he extinguished the soul blade.

The shade gave a snort which might have been a laugh.

"Welcome to Besaid, shittiest place on earth. Everyone here has gone nuts or wishes they had." The shade spoke, bitterness ringing in his voice.

"You seem pretty sane, compared to the others." Ladis mentioned, motioning to the blonde haired shade, who had returned to muttering.

The warrior's eyes flashed, and Ladis saw his grip on his sword tighten. "Don't insult my son. He's been through more shit than you ever will. He deserves a breakdown in this shit. You, on the other hand, look like some pretty boy who just got his nails polished. A snowflake."

Ladis let out a sigh. "A wimp."

"Yes."

"Never had a rough day in my life?"

"Don't think so."

"You know the bitchy ghost voice that tells people they're screw ups?"

"Yeah. Irritating as hell. So what?"

Ladis drew a breath slowly. "That's my mom."

The warrior shade looked at Ladis as if he'd just stated that he'd contracted a terminal illness. "Daaaaaaaamn."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Well, welcome to hell, kid. I'm Jecht, professional blitzball player, first-class screwup as a father, and I did a mean impression of a world-destroying monster in my old days."

Ladis smiled. "Ladis Jadesdale, certified menace to society as we know it, and hired ghosty-voice bitch exterminator." Ladis made a mock bow.

Jecht let out a harsh laugh. "If things weren't so shitty, I'd think that was actually funny. None of us can do squat, kid. Occasionally, you'll see one of those… I don't know what the HELL you call those monsters come out of the hole and walk through the village, but my sword does nothing to it. We're all ghosts, here, and…" Jecht stopped, as if noticing something.

"You… you're not a ghost, are you?" he said, slowly, his eyes opening wide.

"Like I said, I'm here to kill what made this place shitty and make everything better again."

Jecht snorted, again. "Yeah, yeah… bet you do this everyday, huh kid?" he spat sarcastically.

"Well, I've only done it once, the island turned out okay, and… Oh, yeah, I have a reference…" Ladis reached into his ethereal inventory, withdrawing the gem Ansem gave him as a parting gift.

"Uh… Ansem? You in there?" Ladis asked, tapping the spherical amber marble.

A stream of ethereal energy shot out of the orb in response, flowing towards the ground, pooling and forming the shade of Ansem.

"I probably should of stated this earlier, Ladis, but I'm strictly combat oriented, I'm afraid. In other worlds, I'm not much for directions…" Ansem began.

"I don't need directions. Just tell this guy I'm the real deal so I can start killing Dreamslayer number two." Ladis said, indicating Jecht.

"Oh… right. Yes, Ladis here does do a thorough job of exterminating… unwanted tyrannical presences. Though I must admit… the process is a tad bloody for my tastes…" Ansem said, seeming to recall the savagery of Ladis' last battle.

"It was a damned giant lizard with knives for teeth and "Make-you-die" gas for breath. What did you expect me to do, lecture it on ethics and playing nicely?"

Ansem rolled his eyes. "'Make-you-die Gas'? Only a non-mage could take the pinnacle of an evil, yet beautifully twisted arcane art and give it such an utterly mundane moniker… but I digress. Yes, he does a professional job of ridding one's environment of unwanted demonic influences and restoring the damage their tyranny has inflicted to such a degree that the affliction seems to have never of transpired."

Jecht stared at Ansem blankly, who sighed and shook his head.

"I'll rephrase- He stabs demons until they bleed to death and makes the bad shit go bye bye." Ansem spoke loudly and slowly, not trying to mask any condescending of Jecht's intelligence.

"Ohhhhh, okay…" Jecht said, realization showing in his eyes.

Ansem turned to Ladis. "I'll be resting now. Please don't call me unless it's an emergency, because it's… cold out of the orb."

Ladis noticed that Ansem seemed to be a bit uncomfortable for some reason, and held out the orb. The shade broke down into energy, which flowed into the amber orb.

"So… yeah, I'm the exterminator. Now, where did you say this "hole" was?"

"I didn't. It's a ways outside the village, and surrounded by these… I'm sure what the hell you call them… some look like bodies made of tar, others are made of... 'inky water', I guess. I tried taking on them… my sword won't scratch them and they don't even seem to know I'm there."

Ladis nodded, his face grim. "I'll go take care of it. Wait here."

He called forth the blade and prepared to head out.

"Hey, wait a minute." Called Jecht.

Ladis paused, turning his head slightly.

"Don't die out there, okay? I've held on too long to see the one good thing around here get smashed." said Jecht, his face showing the wear of maintaining his sanity in a place that actively tried to tear it away from him.

Fate stirred ever so slightly from his thoughts as he sensed the Soul Blazer draw near the entrance to the next Nightmare Citadel. His minions, now more vigilantly guarding their own Citadels, were gone for now.

Calling forth the large arcane sphere that allowed him to see into worlds he possessed, he brought it to bear on the now rapidly moving Soul Blazer, and caused the image to zoom in…

Fate barely managed to suppress an outburst of rage as he got his first good look at this pest who had single-handedly defeated a Dreamslayer.

The fool was Faith's age, it seemed. And judging by his appearance, he was not used to fighting off hordes of demonic beasts, or any sort of combat, for that matter.

How, then, was a Dreamslayer dead at his hands?

Was the lethality of the Soul Blade such that even the gross difference in combat capability between Despair and the boy was balanced by its fatal touch? No, from what his minions had told him, the battle was a close contest with the boy only winning by virtue of being able to move faster than Despair.

Doubtless the boy would become more and more proficient with time, becoming an even greater threat. A threat that was rapidly encroaching on Fate's domain… and his source of power.

Moreover, he, for once, was at a disadvantage. He could not leave this home realm without further compromising his powers, so he only had his Dreamslayers to defend him.

Oh, wait, and the Soul Blazer's family and two others who hated his guts. At the very least, his confrontations with them would prove amusing. A diversion that was necessary to break the tedium of unquestionable rule.

Then he remembered the light he saw when Faith disappeared.

He willed away the image, fuming as his memory tormented him. The light that had snatched Faith away, like the god he had mocked was mocking him in return, taking away the one thing he wished to destroy most…

But even so, the struggles of this Soul Blazer, the idea that this boy could challenge him… excited him. The prospect of the boy accumulating enough power to challenge him, one on one… to engage him head on in battle… was an intoxicating proposition.

It then struck Fate that he was not altogether sure that he wanted the boy dead just yet. He wanted to personally kill him: let him fight his way through his most powerful troops, bringing courage and hope to the realms conquered by Fate… then kill him, and show his broken, lifeless body to those who dared to aid a rebellion.

Or maybe leave him on the verge of death, and let the masses see their fallen hero be executed at the hands of Fate himself…

Fate absentmindedly wondered, if, perhaps, this was what it meant to be insane with power.

Ladis now fully understood how some people could have hydrophobia.

He also had a new appreciation for just how twisted the imagination of Fate had to be to come up with the unholy beings he'd dubbed "Watermines."

The hole Ladis found was guarded by three small Bladetails, the name he'd given to the small Odiumspawn with two legs, no arms, and a long tail with a blade on the end. They fell easily enough to two slashes and a Thunder spell that sent one flying into a rock, where it left a small crack on impact.

He'd barely noticed the small puddles of water that didn't seem to absorb into the ashen sand. They had simply looked normal.

But once he got too close to one, and it began to slash and slap at him with sharp jets of water, it had struck him that anything that looked normal in these worlds was a trap.

It took multiple slashes, thrusts, and thunder spells to destroy the damnable blobs of water, but finally, a battered and bleeding Ladis emerged victorious.

He used two cure spells to heal himself up, and headed into the abyss, leaping down the dark, seemingly bottomless hole…

It then occurred to Ladis he had no idea how deep the hole went. Unfortunately, this thought came to him as soon as his feet had entered the blackness of the pit's depths…

Were anyone nearby, they might have broken out of their Fate-induced sorrows to marvel at how fast the Soul Blazer could spew obscenities.

Ten seconds of falling later, Ladis had acquired enough presence of mind to both use the soul blade to see just what he was falling down into, and then used both the boots and the Aero magic to slow his descent, landing on a stone platform in the middle of a torch-lit tunnel.

A quick look around revealed whoever was in charge here has similar tastes of décor with the fallen Despair- skull-like torches served as illumination in this granite tunnel, making it quite clear that Ladis- along with anyone else- was not welcome here.

More looking about revealed that the platform of stone Ladis stood on was surrounded by acidic-smelling fluid, and similar platforms lead further down the tunnel, which, now that Ladis considered it, felt more like some sort of macabre sewer system.

A Tainted Waterway.

_Lemme guess- that green crap burns. _Ladis called out mentally.

_Correctumundo! Feels like liquid fire on the skin before it melts it away, though it's not as potent as Grade Sigma crap._

_Great. And here, with a demon of elemental water, I thought I'd at least get to swim._

_Precisely. Elemental demons, if given the chance, will make a macabre parody of the element they represent. Water demons will choose polluted marshes and acid lakes, Earth demons will choose barren bowels of the earth, Fire demons… well, they take up residence in the nearest volcano, not a very creative bunch, and Wind Demons like to make holds on top of tall mountains where they can generate massive windstorms._

Ladis cautiously leapt from one platform to the next, wary of the acid below. _I guess the entire idea is to make intruders really feel uncomfortable, huh?_

_Well, you can't expect them to have a red carpet, a waiting room, and complimentary coffee for people intending to kill them, can you? Of course, there are a few that DO that, but… well, they eat hordes of 'heroes' for breakfast, often literally speaking._

Ladis swore vehemently as he nearly lost his balance. _Right. Now, then…_

He had almost jumped when, again, the power of precognition kicked in, and he had another vision, this one of him being drenched in a sudden deluge of green acid, seeing his skin begin to hiss and bubble…

He fought off the nausea as he saw, from a large drainpipe in the stone walls, a torrent of green acid flowed out, spilling into the corrosive stream below.

Ladis nearly despaired at having his one route forward blocked, but, after a few moments, the acid slowed, then stopped, allowing him to jump to the next platform.

It then struck Ladis that if that drain had kept spilling acid into this demonic sewer, unless there was another drain somewhere further down, the acid would flood up and over the platforms, leaving him with nowhere to run…

The acid flow started up again behind him, and, turning around, he could see that the flow was more forceful and increasing in volume by the moment.

Instinct had Ladis sprinting and jumping down the stone corridor, praying that he would find higher ground soon…

The acid had just covered the edges of the platform he had most recently leapt to when he saw that the tunnel ended about twenty feet ahead… and near the end, was a raised stone platform…

Calling on the boots power, Ladis leapt to the wall, using the increased speed to allow him to defy gravity and run along the wall like he had heard ninja were prone to do…

He had leapt off the wall and onto the higher ground he sought when it became apparent that the corrosive flow wasn't going to stop, and he had run out of room to flee.

Instinct, or something very much like it brought the young Soul Blazer's gaze upward, and there he saw that there was a long, cylindrical, well like tunnel above… but there was no way he could jump that high…

Unless…

_Are the fumes from that sort of acid flammable? _Ladis asked mentally, hoping that Fortune was still listening in…

_Why the hell are you asking about!... Oh no… you are NOT doing that…_

Ladis leapt up into the tunnel as far as the boots would allow him…

_YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR MIND…_

"Sky Arrow!"

_YOU INSANE SONUVA…_

_Yes she is a…!_

"THUNDER!"

It should be noted that while the Actraiser Armor boosts a person's dexterity, strength, vitality, and their ability to use magic, it does nothing to aid their wisdom, intelligence, or sense of rational thought.

Ladis, consequently, gained a great deal of insight of just what it felt like to be a bullet fired from a sniper rifle, the flames licking near his back as he was violently expelled from the tunnel upward…

Instinctively lit his soul blade, his spinning, uncontrolled sword arm cleaving through two Swordsman Odiumspawn who had been curious enough to see what the loud explosion was…

Saw, as he spun, a high stone platform, forcing his body to take one direction and hoping that the magic he possessed would allow him to perform what he needed to do…

"WIND CLEAVER! AERO!"

The spell, focused into a burst of air, propelled him towards the platform he desperately sought, and, miraculously landing on both feet, he had barely time to turn around…

And get a glimpse of the large fiery pillar that soared upward, searing the air where Ladis had been only two seconds ago.

When the blast subsided, Ladis looked down, seeing that he was on the second story of a two story room, seeing the smoldering remains of two Swordsman Odiumspawn vaporize into black hazes…

"Wheeeeeeeee…." Ladis moaned, as he fought off a sense of disorientation and nausea from his impromptu flight.

Turning around, ignoring the combination of unrepeatable curses and expressions of surprise from Fortune, Ladis saw he was on a narrow stone walkway, in a large, expansive room, where from the walls jutted out a cris-crossing jumble of more narrow walkways to form a tapestry of winding stone beams, making sharp turns, intersecting, some stopping in the middle of open air, others making tight, winding turns inward, forming spirals, and others formed treacherous "stairways" down to the floor…

Where lay among the smooth stone floors pools of what appeared to be murky water.

_Quit cursing at me, Fortune. Is that stuff poisonous?_

_No, its magical swamp water than will make you big and strong and increase your genital size by 300, or your money back. OF COURSE IT'S POISONOUS! _Fortune shouted this last part so loud Ladis nearly fell off the beam he was on.

"Figures." Ladis mumbled. "Acid floods, poison pools, long vertical shafts with no ladders. How could this get any worse?" he groaned aloud.

Prickling came at the back of his neck.

He pulled off reflexive back flip that would have been impossible were it not for the enhancing powers of the armor.

And then came the scraping of metal hitting stone where flesh and bone were just milliseconds ago.

Ladis landed on a stone beam a few feet away to look at a new breed of odiumspawn- Bipedal like the Hookhand Odiumspawn, these had Reptilian heads lined with ivory teeth and held an acid green tongue, and where the hook-like blades were, there instead what appeared to be a set of bladed pincers, not unlike a set of hedge clippers, except these were looking far sharper and suited for cutting something entirely different from mere wood. Instead of a black, ooze like body, these monstrosities had green, scaly hides like Despair's, save for that they seemed much less thick and far less resilient, and their tails were more thinner, longer, seemingly like an extra limb.

One of them hissed, and it's clipper-claws opened and closed as it's yellow, almost glowing eyes looked over Ladis. _"You're not exactly the prey I had in mind, but you ssssssuffice nicely." _It spoke, a distinct reptilian edge to it's voice.

Without warning, it lunged, drawing back the right claw and thrusting forward with the left. Ladis stepped to the side, and spun the Soul Blade in a backhand arc, slicing off an arm. A howl of pain faded slowly as it lost its balance and fell, landing headfirst with a sickening crack.

Ladis turned to the other two, who bore mixed looks of shock and hate. "Which one of you wants to die next?"

Both lunged, hissing in anger. The first one landed on the beam aside Ladis, blocked a stab from the Soul Blade, and thrust out with the claw, shearing off his left arm at the elbow with a snap…

…or so it would have been had Ladis' hand not twitched, jamming the Soul Blade between the snapping blades, which now smoldered as the lizardman tried futilely to cut the blade of light in half.

Ladis pushed forward, shoving his attacker away, and flung himself backward just in time to avoid a flying kick from the second lizardman, who landed right in front of his companion.

Ladis saw that the stone beam ended a few feet behind the lizardmen, and a look of wicked intelligence flashed in his eyes.

Both of the lizardman gave momentary looks of confusion as Ladis formed the Greatsword Soul Blade and cut the beam in front of him, the confusion turning to shock as both fell as the beam gave way…

The tactic might have worked had it not been for the Lizardmen's apparently unnatural resilience, as they bounded back onto the beam behind Ladis, seemingly unfazed or unhurt by the fall.

_Time for a new tactic: Brute Force._

Ladis reared back, calling on the lance form of the Soul Blade, and thrust forward at the nearest of the Lizardmen. Caught off guard, the blade of energy struck right through it's chest, and, with an odd cross between a cough and a gurgle, it fell forward, hit the beam, and rolled off, falling to the floor with a sound like a sack of potatoes meeting the ground after falling out of an airplane.

The final Lizardman opened it's mouth to hiss- save that no hiss came out, only a gout of purple smoke that engulfed Ladis, burning his eyes and making him cough and stumble backward.

Blinded, Ladis was unable to see the Lizardman, but still the precognition power warned him of the approaching beast's claw, allowing him to turn what would have been a dire wound into a mere flesh wound on his shoulder.

Hissing in pain and feeling utterly nauseous, Ladis held up his hands. "SKY ARROW! THUNDER!"

There was a roar of thunder and a brief cry of pain, followed later by a crash.

Finally, Ladis' tears washed what ever was in his eyes out enough to the point his vision returned, and he could see what became of the Lizardman. The lightning bolt had apparently thrown him down onto the corpse of the first lizardman, where he was impaled on his brother's claw.

Ladis would have felt some amount of pride at slaying three such deadly creatures if it wasn't for the sudden burst of nausea and pain that brought him to his knees.

_Ladis, you've got some sort of poison in you! _Came Fortune's mental call.

Ladis groaned and shook his head to try and clear the residual burning in his eyes and the nausea. _No shit. What do those things eat for lunch, anyway?_

_Human flesh and bone. Now, then, you've got enough white aether, I think, so try and form a spell that will cure you of the venom._

Ladis, again closing his eyes in concentration, thought of the many times Kazubeki had given him homemade herbal remedies for colds when his parents had refused to buy medicine…

"…errrgh… this had better work… Prism Dose! Panacea!"

Immediately, Ladis was engulfed in green mist that appeared out of nowhere. Instinctively he breath, and as if he was never ill at all, the burning in his eyes- and the painful nausea- disappeared.

A cure spell healed the wound on his shoulder, and Ladis once set his mind to finding a way through this hellish dungeon. The pillars jutted out from the walls, but none led to any real place of significance…

Save for one, which led to a wall that crackled and hissed like the portals in Despair's lair…

It was in the very topmost left-hand corner, too.

_Hooooooooo boy. I'm earning my stripes._

Ladis, leaping from beam to beam, worked his way up toward the sparkling portal. It was becoming more and more obvious that ease of access was not what whoever worked on these "Nightmare Citadels" had in mind; one's anatomy had to be tailor-made to traverse these mazes with any degree of ease and safety.

But, remembering the acid canal incident, Ladis began to wonder if the entire idea behind the traps and trials was not only to keep out intruders, but to cull weak Odiumspawn as well.

He jumped toward the portal, using the boots to boost himself through the crackling wall…

And slammed into the sparking wall, his confusion as to why he was unable to get through lasting only a second before he slashed into the wall as he fell, slowing his decent from a fatal plunge to a slow drift…

…a twitch of his feet saved him from falling into one of the toxic pools.

_Crap. Fortune, something's wrong with the wall. I can't get through. _Ladis called.

_Look around in there. Kill or smash anything that looks like it fits into the "evil spooky demon battery thingamajig category._ Fortune replied.

Ladis started to walk around the floor, shaking his head. _I'm not seeing much, Fortune… all that's in here are a few lizard corpses, some pillars, some poison swamp water, and…_

More prickling at the back of his neck. Like acupuncture with railroad nails.

A leap ten feet into the air saved him from being cut in half as a tentacle, armed with a scythe-like claw blade, sprang from one of the pools and swiped at him.

_...forget what I just said._

Ladis slashed at the tentacle, but it withdrew back into the murky liquid from whence it came as quickly as it lashed out, leaving Ladis to strike only empty air.

Another tentacle lashed out at Ladis, narrowly missing. Ladis tried to use the Greatsword form to slash it's claw off, but, again, the tentacle withdrew far too quickly.

Then an idea came to him.

Waiting for only a split-second, Ladis dodged another tentacle slash, but this time, aimed for the pool where the tentacle had sprung from…

"Sky Arrow! THUNDER!"

The lightning bolt surged into the poisonous water, and the tentacle convulsed, seemingly paralyzed. Ladis wasted no time in hacking it to bits, dark purple ichors spilling onto the stone floor as his soul blade slashed again and again.

One particularly fierce blow severed the tentacle in two, and the remainder of the appendage went still. From behind, Ladis heard the splash of something surfacing…

Spinning around, he stifled a curse as he saw what appeared to be some sort of horrible combination of hornet and squid head emerged from one of the poisonous ponds, and somehow, even though he had (thankfully) never seen this sort of beast before, Ladis could tell the beast was dazed… for now…

Charging, Ladis leapt at the head, slashing down into one of the insect-like eyes, the blade of light causing the eye to sizzle and blacken.

As would be expected from such a horrific beast, retribution came swiftly and painfully. Tentacles sprouted up from all around the beast, flailing and slamming Ladis back into the ground brutally. The beak like mouth opened, and with a gurgle, acid green liquid spewed out, hitting Ladis in the left leg as he tried to scramble away.

A scream of agony like nothing Ladis had ever experienced escaped his throat as his flesh melted away, and he rolled to avoid another stream of acid, feeling like his leg had been submerged in boiling oil…

He had only enough presence of mind to call forth a potion before the agony washed over him again, his scream filling the room, tearing his throat…

Somehow in the torment he uncorked the bottle, dumped the contents on his leg (_oh dear god I can see the muscles_) and blissfully, mercifully, the wounded appendance foamed from the liquid medicine, skin regrowing, giving Ladis time enough to cast a Cure spell to regenerate any remaining injury from the acid blast.

His anger, however, remained. He'd had a perfectly good pair of pants ruined from the acid, magic didn't repair those, and had been put through pain which surpassed even his Algebra Tests.

For those of you who are unaware, an angry Soul Blazer- even an inexperienced one, is a dangerous and unpredictable foe at best.

The beastly head submerged underwater, and Ladis waited, his anger mounting with every second he was denied vengeance…

A tentacle lashed out, and with enhanced reflexes, Ladis spun, screaming the incantation for a Thunder spell, stopping the bladed claw inches from his chest.

Now fury came upon Ladis, and he slashed and stabbed at the tentacle with a vengeance, and as soon as the demonic squid/insect head rose from one of the ponds…

Ladis aimed another Thunder spell at the mass of flesh and chitin and observed the flailing from a distance. The acid stream lost momentum as it spat at him, the corrosive bile landing pitifully short. After a few minutes of flailing and spraying, it re-submerged, looking (for a nightmarish monster) thoroughly pissed.

Ladis then had a thought come to him- if some of the ponds were frozen, the tentacles would have a harder time breaking through…

Summoning up his black aether, he thought of Terce- no, his mother, the person who was supposed to give him care but never did, never showed any affection or kindness, being assailed by shards of ice and biting cold…

The spell took only a second to form, and he aimed his hand at a nearby pond…

"COLD BLAST! BLIZZARD!"

Responding to his command, Ladis' mana took form in a blast of ice and frozen shards, striking the water's surface and freezing most of the surface.

He repeated this technique with the pools until his mana was exhausted, and waited.

A tentacle smashed through one of the iced poison lakes, the shards of ice gouging it a bit, and, sluggish from the cold, its strike was slow enough to allow Ladis to slash at it as it narrowly missed him…

After slashing it in two, Ladis heard the telltale crack of ice as the beast rose again from the poison pools…

The lance form required mana, which Ladis simply didn't have. So, to compensate, he switched to the twin blades, and leapt at the head. As he landed, he dug in with both blades, causing the aberration to flail with it's remaining tentacles and spew more acid. Fortunately, though, the strikes and spray were unable to hit Ladis as he clung to it's back, stabbing and hacking at it's hide…

Finally having gouged out a large hole in the back of it's head, Ladis shifted the blades into the Greatsword form, stood up, pointing the ethereal blade down, and in one swift plunge, rammed the blade to the hilt… well, where the hilt _would _be- into where he thought this thing's brain was.

The beast gave an infernal shriek like a hive of hornets lit ablaze combined with a cow being slowly crushed to death, and, as Ladis leapt off, it sank with a wet flop onto the floor, purple ichors streaming from where he'd stabbed it…

Aether flowed into his body in rapid time, and somewhat drunk off the sudden intake, Ladis staggered, then shook away the sloth and focused on what to do next.

He saw that, near the beast's corpse, several "prayers" lay, the orbs of light shining and hovering. He picked them up, barely registering what they gave him as he heard the prayers.

"_Please, spare my child… let her live… take me but let her live!..."_

"_Mommy? Daddy? Where are you? Please don't go! Please, come back!..."_

"_The pain… the pain… why must I still feel pain?"_

It struck him as odd that anyone- or anything- could ever justify keeping people in torment for this long…

He looked at the items the prayers had given him. A potion, an ether, and an antidote. Useful, but not worth the lives of three innocent people…

He wondered if he'd ever grow so accustomed to the horrors of the Eternal Nightmares that the sorrow within the prayers would cease to affect him.

As he leapt back toward the portal, now apparently opened from the death of the beast keeping it sealed, he prayed to the God he felt had long abandoned him that he would never become so callous.

_Three hours of running, jumping, pointless puzzles, traps, and general monster bashing later…_

Another Lizardman Odiumspawn slammed into the marble walls of a circular corridor with a spiked pit before sliding off and being impaled on the steel spears below, dissolving into black mist.

It had taken five minutes to defeat that, and three Watermines, the watery blobs Ladis encountered earlier, two Hookhand odiumspawn, along with four other Lizardmen Odiumspawn. Ladis took a few cuts and blows, but was still standing.

Using the aether he'd gained over the past battles, Ladis had now gained several new spells- Slow, which caused enemies to move much slower and had saved him several times, Fire, which hurled a fireball at enemies, though the Watermines shrugged it off fairly quickly, and a protective spell, Bar-Tide, which reduced water elemental magic's power against him.

He wasn't much for pride or hubris, but to go up against a small army and come out on top had its way of boosting one's ego.

He broke out of his back-patting session when he realized that the ceiling had spikes as well as the floor- and the two were now rising up to pinch the long walkway that Ladis was standing on.

Ladis began to dash towards the opposite end at top speed, when another Lizardman odiumspawn, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, blocked his path. This time, however, instead of the prosthetic claws, it had reptilian hands, both holding scimitars that bore no pretense of being capable of anything less than fatal wounds.

Not two days ago, the beast would have given Ladis pause. Now it was merely an aggravation.

Ladis raised both hands and invoked the slow spell. "Space Congeal! SLOW!"

A distortion wave shot from his hands, wrapping around the confused Lizardman, and apparently it's magical resistance was nigh onto nonexistent- the spell took effect immediately, dulling what would most likely be razor-fast movements to sluggish, watery steps.

Rather than waste time fighting the beast, Ladis sped past, absentmindedly shoving the creature off the walkway and into the rising floor of spears that was now rapidly climbing to meet the ceiling of spikes.

It took the boot's power to make it to the crackling section of stone wall that signified an exit, and he had to dive, tucking into a sideroll as the spears below punched through the walkway and the spikes above crashed down to lance him…

He took a moment to recognize the sound of armor and hide being pierced and the consequent short-lived scream to realize the Lizardman would not be hindering him any further.

He was now in yet another hallway, one that curved slowly upward. To his right, he saw two things that immediately made him sigh in relief- the oh-so-blessed orb of light that last time transported him to Faith's… well, infinite expanse of light, and a wooden, normal looking door. And if he was correct, behind this door was…

The pale face from behind the simple wooden desk, with eyes that glowed yellow might have made others wary, but Ladis breathed, and exhaled in exhaustion.

"It's good to see you again, pal." He said, wiping sweat off his forehead, moving toward the figure.

The man, who simply called himself "The Merchant", smiled back, indicating a seat. "…and it's good to see you as well, friend Soul Blazer."

"My thanks on dealing with that lizard-fiend… Desperation, or whatever his name was. Bad for business, these Dreamslayers are."

"Not to mention the welfare of whatever place they make their home in." Ladis added.

The Merchant nodded, then raised an eyebrow as he assessed Ladis' state. "Good God, man, what happened to you?", he said as he apparently got a better look at Ladis' state. "…and what happened to your jeans?..."

"Acid puke from this… hornet-squid thing. Hurt like hell. By the way, I need to buy some pants."

His stomach growled, and hunger pains suddenly sent Ladis to his knees.

"…and some food."

One hot meal later, Ladis was surveying the wares of the merchant with a tempered eye. He had a fair amount of Gil from killing off Despair, so he could afford some new armor.

And medicines.

There were some amulets that literally crackled with power, but one look at the price- 30,000,000 gil for one medallion that supposedly doubled the amount of Black Aether one absorbed- made Ladis stick strictly to the cheaper goods.

"I also have some crystals that may be of interest to you…" the merchant offered.

Ladis raised an eyebrow at that. "Crystals?"

"In the old days- way, way, way back when less powerful versions of your armor were made available, aurasmiths, those who dealt with magical weapons like the soul blade, discovered ways to align the blade with certain properties to give the wielder an edge in combat."

He took a black bag and emptied some small, sparkling gemstones onto the table.

"These three are the only few I've in stock now… what with the damn Dreamslayers and all, supplies of these crystals are a tad rare. These two-" and he pointed to a red and ice blue gemstone "-respectively align the blade with the property of fire or cold. If you can't tell which does which, you really need to find another profession besides savior of the world." The Merchant spoke, smiling sardonically.

Ladis allowed himself an eye roll. "I'm not colorblind- or an idiot. And the third?" he asked, gesturing at a stone that seemed to dim the light about it.

"That stone- that one grants no elemental affinity, I'm afraid, but will occasionally render those struck blind, for a short time. Its power fluctuates, though, so multiple blows may be necessary."

Ladis thought for a moment. Having a flaming sword or an ice blade was cool and all, but he needed versatility over pure power- buying both elemental stones was beyond his price range, and he still needed armor- but it always helped if an opponent couldn't _see _you, and besides, he wasn't honor bound to any codes of ethics.

"I'll take that one, the blinding gem." Ladis said, pointing to the dim jewel.

"An wise choice- adaptable to any situation. Well, at least, most situations- some of these odiumspawn, I'm told, don't need to see you to attack. So don't rely on it forever."

Ladis nodded as he took the gem, a chain mail vest to replace his leather armor, and some medicines.

"I learned that the hard way in first grade…"

_OBLIGATORY ANGSTY FLASHBACK_

"_You're a very good artist, Ladis."_

_A kind, middle-aged woman who served as Ladis' teacher gave him a genuine smile as she surveyed his handy work- a knight standing in front of a family, fighting off a demonic looking monster with a sword._

"…_Mommy and daddy say I shouldn't draw."_

"_Oh?"_

"_They say I don't deserve to look smart."_

"_Are you sure that's what they said?" a skeptical look._

"_Don't tell them I draw in class, okay? They get angry, and then I get hurt."_

"_You get hurt? How?"_

"_Dad hits me."_

"_He hits… you?"_

"_He says I'm a bad person and I need to be reminded of that a lot."_

"_I'm going to call them…"_

"_No! Please! You'll only make it worse…"_

But she did call.

And soon, after a thorough beating which left Ladis unable to sit for days, they had him moved to a different school- one with teachers who could care less about their pupil's situation at home.

Ladis could never rely on anyone for long.

Not even the mother who gave birth to him, who only watched with cruel, unforgiving eyes as his father lashed him with a belt. Or dowel. Or stick. Whatever happened to be in arm's reach that wouldn't require a hospital visit.

They stop hitting him around 12. It took too much energy from his father, they said, energy needed to make sure his job provided a future for Terce.

They never hit him again, after that. Terce took care of that aspect. Now they just used words- soul-shearing, horrible putdowns, degradations of Ladis' humanity.

Ladis stepped out of the merchant's abode, into the demonic corridor of the Nightmare Citadel, the Soul Blade now tinged with a… blackness, a dark mist, the results of bonding the blade with the blind gem.

He had initially felt a sort of dread towards the possibility of fighting his own family. Initially.

But now, as he recalled years of horrible treatment, over a decade of physical and emotional torture- there was no other word for it- he felt that dread fade and be replaced with a morbid, horrible sense of anticipation- like the thrill he had when he successfully swiped a soda from the downstairs pantry without his family knowing, or the growing thrill and exhilaration he'd felt when Gutarez had offered him a way out of his home- the possibility of _freedom._

And that's what he was doing, wasn't it? He was freeing worlds. Freeing them from the same pain, if not worse, that he'd endured. He was the good guy, this time around. His family was in the wrong. He felt utterly justified in this… anticipation of finally being able to pay them back for the years of pain they'd heaped upon him.

He would save the worlds.

He would be a hero.

And if his family was dumb enough to get in the way…

_Then they deserved whatever they got._

He strode through the hall, Soul Blade at the ready for any odiumspawn unfortunate to cross the zealous Soul Blazer's path.

This is what it meant, he realized, to feel vindicated.


End file.
